


Escape From The New Alcatraz

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: New Alcatraz [1]
Category: Hanson
Genre: F/M, Imprisonment, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2017-12-26 04:23:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 65
Words: 31,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 2018 and WWIII has been won, at a heavy cost for the American population. With the use of nuclear weapons wiping out the vast majority of their armies and any able-bodied man called into service to recoup the losses, America has been left with an unusual problem... their male population has been drastically reduced to the point of rarity.</p>
<p>With the government stepping in to solve the issue, a program was elected calling every girl of a certain age and health ratio to volunteer to become pregnant in the hopes of creating a new 'baby boom' in which they could once again balance out the gender population. Of course not all of the remaining men are volunteers...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anticipation

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a spinoff for a story I haven't written yet, and probably won't get around to writing for some time. Oops!

Charlotte tapped her foot nervously as she sat in the waiting room with her mother. Her mother noticed and took her hand into her lap.  
“Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon,” she assured, not for the first time wishing she could take her daughter’s place.  
“I’m okay,” Charlotte assured with a smile, though it wasn’t entirely true.  
She was worried. This could be her last chance. If this didn’t work out she doubted that they would try again. She’d already had two tries at it.  
“Miss Hunter?”  
The two women looked up as the doctor called her name before both stood to follow her down to her interview room. Once inside with the door closed all three women took a seat.  
“Miss Hunter, I’m sorry to hear your last liaison didn’t quite work out,” the doctor began absently, “but not to worry, we still have some options on the table.”  
“It was only my second time,” Charlotte felt the need to point out, “maybe I just need more… practise?”  
She ignored the look she got from her mother as the doctor looked over her glasses at her.  
“I don’t think that’s quite the problem,” she assured, “however we have been monitoring the other end of things and the council are prepared to let you try again with a more… successful donor.”  
“You mean more fertile?” Charlotte’s mother confirmed.  
“Yes,” the doctor nodded, “perhaps connecting Charlotte with someone who already has a high success rate will ensure that your daughter gets pregnant without any need to look further into artificial help.”  
“Good, good,” her mother nodded.  
“How soon?” Charlotte asked worriedly.  
“Let me check your cycle…” the doctor turned to her computer, quickly going through a few files before replying, “in another three weeks you should be ready. I’ll organise the liaison with the council for then and you’ll receive a call once it’s all been confirmed.”  
“Just like before?”  
“Just like before,” the doctor smiled, “don’t worry. Third time? It’ll be a walk in the park.”  
Charlotte paused to take a deep breath.  
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” the doctor looked between them.  
“That’s all,” Charlotte’s mother answered for her, already standing and heading for the door.  
“Um… thank you,” Charlotte offered the doctor a smile before following her out.  
“Goodbye Charlotte.”


	2. Preparation

“Is that Miss Charlotte Hunter?”  
“It is,” she confirmed as she answered the phone.  
“I’m calling about your appointment booked for the 15th of this month. Are you still able to make that day?”  
“Yes I am.”  
“Great. Have you been to the detention centre before?”  
“I have,” Charlotte answered warily, “this will be my third time.”  
“Oh great, then this should be a walk in the park for you. I’ll still need to go through some things with you now, and again someone will speak to you on the day once your liaison partner has been chosen, but it should be nothing new to you.”  
“Okay.”  
“First I’d like to go over your preferences. Are there any physical preferences you’d like for any impending offspring?”  
Charlotte grimaced a little at how formal it sounded, but she’d heard it all before.  
“Not really,” she admitted, “but blue eyes if possible. There’s no brown eyes in our family.”  
“Would you settle for green if blue aren’t available?”  
“Sure,” Charlotte shrugged.  
“Is weight an issue for you?”  
“No not really,” Charlotte leant over the kitchen bench, knowing this could be a long questionnaire.  
“And you’ve had problems in the past, yes? This is why this is your third time?”  
“Yes.”  
“Would you be willing to accept a deserter as a liaison?”  
Charlotte paused. She’d never thought of it before. She wasn’t even all that sure what a deserter really was, just that they were somehow in trouble with the law after the war had ended.  
“I guess so,” she sounded unsure.  
“You can change your mind any time up until the day, but I’ll put you down as a yes for now, okay?”  
“Sure.”  
“And of course we will try and keep within your age range… Are you able to make your way to the detention centre on the day or will you need an escort?”  
“My Mom can take me,” Charlotte assured.  
“Great. Your appointment is slotted for 2pm, so we’ll need you to be there by 1pm to finish the necessary paperwork and to go over the rules and such. Is that okay?”  
“That’s fine.”  
“You will have approximately one hour to copulate in a private room before being asked to leave. In the event that it doesn’t go as planned you will be able to reschedule, but if you fail to fall pregnant you will need to take that to your doctor.”  
“I understand,” Charlotte nodded to herself, hoping against hope that the third time would be a charm.  
“And that’s all for now! We will see you at 1pm on Thursday the 15th!”  
“Thanks so much!” Charlotte smiled before saying goodbye and hanging up.  
She stared at the phone for a moment before groaning and putting her head in her hands. She was sure this would have been so much easier in the days before the war.


	3. Meeting

Charlotte was back to tapping her foot in yet another waiting room. This one was full of girls about her age and younger, most of whom looked just as nervous as she did.  
“I can’t believe they made us be here by 1pm and haven’t even seen us yet,” her mother huffed, checking her watch.  
“It’s afternoon, they’re probably really busy,” Charlotte replied absently as she kept her eye on the door the doctors were coming through.  
“Then they should have called us.”  
Charlotte sat up straighter as the next in line came through.  
“Miss Charlotte Hunter?”  
“That’s me,” she jumped to her feet.  
“Good luck honey,” her mother called after her before getting back to her book.  
Charlotte gave her one last glance before following the woman in the white lab coat down the corridor.  
“Miss Hunter…” she began as they walked, “this is your third attempt, so they’ve tried matching you with a higher success subject, yes?”  
“That’s right,” Charlotte blushed, wishing they were out of a busy corridor for this conversation.  
“Not to worry. We’ve partnered you with a subject who has over a 90%. The other 10% tend to be faults on the maternal side.”  
She paused at a doorway, indicating for Charlotte to walk in ahead of her. Charlotte walked through into the small viewing area.  
When she saw the three people in the next room she felt goose bumps creeping up her arms. The doctor must have noticed something was wrong because she put on her best caring voice.  
“Don’t let his height intimidate you,” she assured, “he will be secured to the bed.”  
“Secured?” Charlotte frowned, watching the two female officers in the room as they appeared to direct the man where to lay.  
“Yes. He is a deserter,” the doctor nodded, “the necessary precautions need to be taken.”  
“Wait… is he dangerous?” Charlotte could feel panic rising in her chest.  
“Some of them are,” the doctor nodded, “but this one has no prior history of violence. It’s purely a legal precaution at this point. Don’t worry, we are well versed in dealing with those who are and we still manage to get what we need from them.”  
“What if he tries something?” Charlotte watched the officers ordering the man to strip.  
“He won’t be able to,” the doctor assured, “but if at any point you feel threatened, you’re welcome to leave the room. As before a buzzer will sound both five and one minutes before your hour is up and you’ll be expected to leave the room immediately…”  
Charlotte felt her heart start to race as the officers pulled the man’s clothes away before directing him to remove his underwear. He was hugging himself and he almost looked upset. She could already tell he was going to be very different from the last two.  
“Once your hour is over you’ll need to fill out a questionnaire, then you can be on your way.”  
They both watched in silence as the man lay on the large mattress and had his wrists and ankles secured to either end. Once he was locked down the officers collected his clothes and left the room.  
“Are you ready?” the doctor asked.  
Charlotte nodded, unable to bring herself to say ‘yes’. The doctor led her out of the viewing room – locking the door behind them to prove that no one would watch – before leading her through.


	4. Liaison

“This one will need physical stimuli, talking to him won’t work,” the doctor checked her clipboard one last time.  
“You mean I have to…” Charlotte made a motion with her hand while pulling a face.  
“Yes,” the doctor mused, “you’ll have to help a little. But believe me, if it works it will all be worth it.”  
Charlotte took another deep breath as the doctor finally opened the door into the main room. The mirror to the left and a light in the ceiling were aside from the makeshift bed the room’s only features. The ‘bed’ itself was nothing more than a large mattress with rubber sheets atop a steel frame which had allowed the officers to lock the man’s chains down. His wrists and ankles were cuffed to each corner, but his arms had just enough chain length so he could reach his face if he needed to.  
The man himself was staring at the ceiling silently.  
“Will that be all?” Charlotte jumped a little as the doctor spoke.  
“Yes, thank you,” Charlotte offered a smile.  
The doctor quickly made herself sparse, closing the door behind her on the way out. Charlotte quickly set her things aside and began taking off her jacket deciding to get it over with. As she set her bag down she had a quick look around and realised the officers had taken the man’s clothes with them. They hadn’t done that before.  
But the other men hadn’t been deserters. They hadn’t had to be restrained.  
She was already wondering what on earth she’d gotten herself into.  
When she was down to her underwear she cautiously approached the bed.  
“Um… hey,” she greeted, trying to act casual.  
The man didn’t respond, just left his gaze to the ceiling. Charlotte blushed. The other two had also been a lot more vocal and had actually helped her when she’d gotten nervous. This one looked like he was going to make her do all the work.  
With an inward groan she slipped off her panties and pulled herself up onto the bed.  
“What’s your name?” she asked, hoping to at least hear the sound of his voice.  
His only response was to close his eyes.   
Charlotte waited a moment to see if he would reply, and when he didn’t she simply sighed and slid one of her legs over his so that she was comfortably on her knees above him. When she took hold of him for the first time she felt him flinch.  
“Sorry,” was her instant reaction, “did I hurt you?”  
The man remained silent, but his brow furrowed. Charlotte wished he’d even just look at her. Even just for a moment. She could see that his eyes were a deep blue, but she couldn’t get anything else from them.  
“Well… I guess we should get started,” she shrugged to herself as she pulled herself forward.  
“Please don’t.”  
Charlotte paused. It had barely been above a whisper, but with the otherwise silence it had been obvious what he’d said.  
“What did you say?” she frowned, afraid she might have been doing something wrong.  
When again there was no response and he simply kept his eyes closed, she had to try and pull herself together enough to get the job over and done with.


	5. Success

“Congratulations Miss Hunter,” her doctor smiled, “you’re pregnant.”  
“Really?!” Charlotte’s eyes lit up, “I wasn’t expecting…”  
“Finally,” her mother rolled her eyes, “it’s about time the state provided an adequate donor.”  
Charlotte’s eyes fell as she momentarily remembered her liaison.  
“Yes, well…” the doctor cleared her throat, “you’ll be expected to make monthly appointments, and then once a week for the last month.”  
“When is it due?” Charlotte’s mother asked.  
“Sometime in July,” the doctor replied, “I would say between the 15th and 20th but we can confirm that closer to the date. It will be about five months before we can tell the baby’s gender.”  
“And let us hope for a boy,” Charlotte’s mother sounded more disgruntled with every word that came out of her mouth, “so we don’t have to go through all this riffraff again.”  
“Thank you,” Charlotte offered the doctor a smile.  
“You’re most welcome,” the doctor nodded, “and of course the government’s donor pregnancy scheme will come into effect immediately.”  
She quickly filled out a form.  
“Take this down to your welfare office this afternoon and you should start getting payments from tomorrow.”  
“Thank you,” Charlotte nodded, reaching for the paper before her mother took it instead.  
“Unless any problems arise, I’ll see you next month,” the doctor looked to Charlotte.  
“That you will,” she smiled before getting to her feet.


	6. Keeping It

“Miss Hunter… without your mother today?”  
“Yes,” Charlotte couldn’t help but smile a little as she settled into the chair for the ultrasound, “I bought a two-bedroom apartment with the scheme money. We have a nursery all setup ready. I also got myself a car so I didn’t need her to bring me…”  
“Does she know you’re here?” the doctor mused as she readied the equipment.  
“I told her the appointment was tomorrow,” Charlotte blushed a little, “figured I’d tell her tonight when she calls.”  
“Well good luck with that,” the doctor smiled as she warmed the gel and helped Charlotte raise her shirt.  
Charlotte sighed as she sat back against the headrest. She’d been for a couple of these so far, but today would be the day… the day they made sure it was a boy.  
Since moving into her new apartment and setting up the nursery, Charlotte wasn’t even all that concerned with the gender of the baby. She was really just looking forward to being a mother for the first time.  
“Here we go,” the doctor said softly, placing the scanner gently onto her baby bump and using it to smudge the gel around even more.  
Charlotte flinched as she pressed into the womb, trying to get the best view of the foetus as she could.  
“Everything looks normal,” the doctor confirmed, “regular heartbeat, right position, seemingly completely healthy. Do you have any concerns?”  
“Not really,” Charlotte shook her head.  
There was a comfortable moment of silence as the doctor looked around further, before she suddenly broke it.  
“Oh.”  
“What?” Charlotte was instantly worried, “is something wrong? You just said he was healthy!”  
“Your baby is fine,” the doctor assured, not taking her eyes from the screen, “but it’s not a ‘he’.”  
“What?” Charlotte’s face fell, “are you sure?”  
“I’m sure,” the doctor confirmed sadly.  
With a sigh she began packing up her equipment.  
“What happens now?” Charlotte asked worriedly, wiping the gel from her skin as she sat up.  
“Well we have a few options,” the doctor assured, “one of which is termination.”  
Charlotte immediately felt a lump in her throat. She’d been so ready. The nursery was all but ready. Everything was ready for her to have this baby.  
“Another is to carry the baby to term, and simply try again later in the year,” the doctor took a seat, “say around October or November.”  
“Okay,” Charlotte nodded, her mind racing.  
“Do you have an idea of what you’d like to do, or would you like some time to think it over?” the doctor asked in her soft tone.  
“I want to keep the baby,” the words came out of Charlotte’s mouth without her even having to think about them, “I want to keep her. Definitely.”  
“That’s okay,” the doctor nodded, though Charlotte could tell she wasn’t encouraged, “you won’t need to have as many appointments before July, but we will schedule some follow-ups to determine exactly how soon we can have you try again.”


	7. Next Interview

“This feels too soon,” Charlotte frowned as she set the nappy bag down by her seat.  
“It is very soon,” the doctor agreed, eyeing the small bundle set in Charlotte’s lap, “but those are the requirements unfortunately. Now, aside from new parenthood…”  
Charlotte couldn’t help but smile a little.  
“…Are there any other issues you’d like to address before we make this happen?”  
“I’m just not sure how I’m going to look after two this soon,” Charlotte admitted, “maybe if we could wait a couple of years…”  
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the doctor insisted, “but not to worry, there will always be help at hand. Whether it be monetary, or childcare needs…”  
Charlotte sighed, looking down at her peacefully sleeping daughter.  
“Okay,” she finally agreed, “let’s do this.”  
“Great,” the doctor smiled before turning to her computer.  
She quickly looked through a graph to find an opening.  
“We have an opening on November 7th,” she said absently, “so that will give you a month’s grace still.”  
“I think I’ll need it,” Charlotte mused nervously.  
“You’ll get another call in the week prior to confirm everything… but you know what to do by now,” the doctor smiled.  
“What about Eden?” Charlotte asked.  
“There’s a crèche at the facility where they’ll be able to look after her,” the doctor assured, “if you don’t have anyone else that can take her.”  
“Well there’s my Mom…” Charlotte winced, “but she’s not Eden’s biggest fan. I’m kinda worried she might have an ‘accident’ while I’m gone… if you know what I mean.”  
“Hmm,” the doctor looked only slightly concerned, “you’d be better off with the crèche then. Just mention it in your pre-liaison interview and they should be able to accommodate her on the day.”  
“Thanks,” Charlotte smiled, knowing the officials would take good care of her.


	8. Arm's Length

“Charlotte Hunter?”  
“Speaking,” Charlotte balanced the phone as she prepared a milk bottle for her daughter.  
“This is regarding your appointment at the detention centre for the 7th of November. Are you still able to make that date?”  
“Detention centre?” Charlotte frowned to herself, “it’s another deserter?”  
“Are you still able to make the date Miss Hunter?”  
“Yes, of course,” Charlotte shrugged it off and got back to what she was doing.  
“Great. Well we’ve managed to pair you with your last partner again both because of your problematic history and his success rate.”  
“Really?” Charlotte froze on the spot.  
She remembered the man well, but she wasn’t all that sure she recalled what he looked like. She remembered that he’d been tall and had blue eyes, and he must have had blonde hair because Eden certainly hadn’t gotten that from her.  
“Yes, really. Will that be a problem?”  
“Ah… no, I guess not.”  
“Great. Your appointment has been made for 10am. Are you able to get to the detention centre on your own?”  
“I have a car, yes,” Charlotte assured.  
“Great! We’ll see you then.”  
“Oh wait!” Charlotte suddenly remembered, “I’ll be bringing my daughter with me. My doctor told me there’d be a crèche there for her?”  
“How old is your daughter Miss Hunter?”  
“Four months.”  
“Not a problem.”  
Charlotte could hear her typing something into a computer.  
“What’s your daughter’s full name?”  
“Eden Willow Hunter.”  
More typing.  
“She’s locked in!”  
“Thank you.”  
“We’ll see you on the 7th then, with little Eden.”  
“Thanks a lot!”


	9. Seconds

“Miss Hunter? Come with me please.”  
Charlotte stood from her seat in the waiting room and followed. She was already nervous about leaving Eden in the care of the crèche, but the women there had seemed nice enough.  
“You’re aware you’ve been paired with a deserter?” the woman checked a clipboard before correcting herself, “sorry, I missed this part. You’ve seen this man before.”  
“I have,” Charlotte confirmed.  
“Then we’ll just need to get a visual confirmation…”  
The woman led Charlotte into the viewing area. Charlotte found herself hugging her arms as she looked through into the room, her eyes quickly falling onto Eden’s father.   
She wanted so badly to thank him for giving her such a beautiful daughter. She was surprised she’d soon be able to get the chance.  
“Is this the same man you saw last year?” the woman readied a pen.  
“Yes,” Charlotte had recognised him instantly.  
She also began to remember how awkward their encounter had been and bit her bottom lip. This had been the one who’d refused to even look at her.  
But then, he was a deserter.  
The woman checked off her clipboard then set to waiting.  
“Once they have him secured you’ll be able to make your way in,” she nodded.  
Charlotte watched the three in the room with a frown. He certainly wasn’t acting as timid as she remembered him being, but he did seem to be shying away from one of the officers in particular. In spite of that they soon had him stripped off and secured to the bed in the same way he had been the year earlier. Charlotte even began to wonder if this had simply become an everyday occurrence for him.  
The officers soon collected the man’s clothes and left the room, prompting the woman with Charlotte to lead her out of the viewing area.  
“You would know the drill by now,” she assumed, “the buzzer will sound at five and one minute to the hour, unless you leave earlier. If you are unsuccessful in your liaison we will reschedule as soon as possible.”  
“Okay,” Charlotte nodded before the woman opened the door.  
There was Eden’s father, staring at the ceiling just like he had been the first time she’d met him.  
“Good luck,” the woman nodded, closing the door behind her.  
Remembering the awkwardness of their last encounter, Charlotte quickly began taking off her clothes. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and get back to her waiting daughter.  
As she walked over to the makeshift bed, she noticed the man didn’t even bat an eyelid.  
“Hey,” she greeted, feeling required to at least be civil.  
He may have been a deserter – and he may have planned to completely ignore her again – but he was still human and needed at least a little respect.  
When as predicted he gave no response, Charlotte climbed onto the bed and got herself ready.  
“Here we go again,” she whispered to herself, quickly taking hold of him.  
As soon as she touched him he closed his eyes. Once she had him ready she moved to sit over him.  
“Please don’t.”  
Charlotte froze. She remembered that from last time too. She also remembered he hadn’t explained when she’d asked about it. After a moment of confused contemplation, she simply carried on.


	10. Parallel

When it was over Charlotte quickly went to grab her clothes. Replacing her underwear and starting to button her shirt, she cautiously made her way back to the man’s side.  
“I know you don’t want to talk to me,” she began cautiously, even blushing a little, “but I need to say something.”  
His brow furrowed, but his eyes remained glued to the ceiling.  
“I don’t know if you remember – you probably don’t – but I came here last year too. It was going to be my last chance, so they wanted to put me with you because apparently you’re pretty successful at… what you do, or whatever. But I had to come back again because last time you gave me a girl.”  
Charlotte froze.   
For the first time, he was looking directly at her… and it instantly took her breath away.  
Eden had his eyes.  
“And…” she began with a stutter, “I just wanted to thank you. Because she’s the most amazing thing in my life right now and I wouldn’t have that… I wouldn’t have her, without you and what you’re doing. So… thanks, I guess.”  
The man looked across at the mirror in the room, which Charlotte knew led into the viewing area. He almost looked scared for a moment.  
“What is it?” she asked, looking toward the mirror in case he was seeing something she wasn’t, “is something wrong?”  
“I’m not supposed to talk to you.”  
Charlotte gulped slightly as he spoke. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but his voice almost caught her as much as his eyes had. He was soft-spoken but clear.  
“Who’s going to know?” she asked, wondering if she might actually get a chance to talk to him properly after all, “no one’s watching. We get an hour alone.”  
“How do you know for sure?” he kept his eye on the mirror, sounding worried.  
Charlotte was taken aback for a moment. They must have told him they’d be keeping an eye on him. She began to wonder if telling him any different may have been a bad idea but he was still restrained and he couldn’t reach to hurt her.  
“The room is locked,” she decided to be honest, “you can hear from here when they open it.”  
He didn’t look sure. Charlotte bit her lip knowing she’d gotten her hopes up, and went to replace the rest of her clothes.  
“So… yeah. I just wanted to thank you. That’s all.”  
She jumped as she heard the chains move, looking up to see him sitting up a little.  
“Our daughter,” his voice shook a little, “what’s her name?”  
Charlotte paused, not sure if she should tell him or not.  
“What’s your name?” she asked, really just wanting to know Eden’s father’s name but also knowing he’d give it up if he really wanted an answer.  
He paused as if deciding whether to reply or not.  
“Jordan,” he gave up, though the look on his face told Charlotte there may have been more to the story.  
But he’d replied, and she needed to too.  
“Eden. Eden Willow,” she offered as she shrugged on her jacket.  
“Willow,” he seemed to contemplate, before laying back with a sigh.  
“When she’s old enough to understand, you can tell her she has an older sister named Willa.”


	11. Time

“Willa?” Charlotte couldn’t help but smile, “how old is she?”  
Jordan frowned a little as if trying to work it out.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “she was born in 2012.”  
“So… she’d be seven this year,” Charlotte thought out loud.  
“Seven,” Jordan almost sighed, “so it’s still 2019.”  
Charlotte blanched. It took her a moment to realise what he’d said.  
“You don’t know what day it is?” she asked, concerned.  
“I lost track early on,” he kept his eyes to the ceiling once again.  
“How long have you been here?” Charlotte frowned.  
There was an awkward moment of silence before he looked across at the mirror again.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted.  
Charlotte followed his eye line, before deciding to bite the bullet and take a seat on the mattress.  
“I know you don’t want to talk…”  
“That’s not true,” Jordan assured, making Charlotte’s brow furrow in further confusion.  
“Okay,” she frowned again, “but I want to know about you. I want to know about the father of my daughter. My children even.”  
“Why?” Jordan frowned back.  
“Because I want something to tell,” Charlotte replied, “and for them to know who their father was.”  
“There’s nothing to tell,” Jordan insisted, “I’m just another nobody worth nothing more than what my body can give to society.”  
Charlotte bit her lip, knowing it must have hit a nerve. But trying to keep him talking she decided to change the subject slightly.  
“What do you say… before it starts?” she knew very well, but she wanted to hear it from him.  
He didn’t humour her.  
“Why do you say ‘please don’t’?” it was eating away at her, and when he’d done it a second time it only fuelled the question further.  
She heard him groan slightly as he closed his eyes again, pulling on the chain on his right wrist.  
“Please, tell me?” she tried, absently wondering how much time she had left.  
“I say it, because if I survive this… one day I’ll be a free man,” he offered, “and when I am, someone will have to account for the number of times I’ve been raped.”  
“Raped?” Charlotte was taken aback yet again.  
“Yes,” his eyes opened again, “every time I say ‘don’t’ it’s a legal avenue to prove rape.”  
“And you say it every time?”  
“Yes.”


	12. Aftermath

Charlotte licked her lips, suddenly feeling a lot more awkward than she thought she ever could.  
“How many times have you been raped?” she asked softly.  
“One hundred and sixty-three,” he replied almost instantly, “twenty-seven of those were staff. I didn’t start saying it until the seventh encounter so the first six don’t count, and for fifteen I couldn’t say it because I was gagged.”  
“Staff?!” Charlotte held back a gasp, “I didn’t think they were supposed to-“  
“They’re not,” Jordan looked up at her again, making her lose concentration for a moment, “but there’s no one here to stop them.”  
Charlotte avoided his gaze as she thought that one over. He seemed to be simply waiting for her to respond.  
Like before she still didn’t know all that much about deserters. But everyone she could think of had the opinion that they deserved everything they got. She could only imagine what kind of horrible crimes they’d committed to end up in the prison in the first place, so she wasn’t sure that showing sympathy was entirely the right thing to do.  
But with the short amount of time spent with Jordan, she didn’t get that vibe from him at all. Of course it could have just been because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d even laid eyes on a man his age who wasn’t a paraplegic.  
“I guess it is a detention centre…” she frowned, “but you’d think there’d be cameras and-“  
“Do you see any cameras in here?” he pointed out, “all I have is whatever sick bitch is watching us from behind that window, and she’s not going to say anything.”  
Charlotte blushed a little at his language, though she knew there couldn’t be anyone behind it. She would have heard the door being unlocked.  
This wasn’t exactly turning into the encounter she’d hoped to be able to tell her kids about.  
When she heard the chains move again, she flinched and stood from the mattress. He’d leant upward again, pulling on the left chain to try and get more height.  
“Do you even know what a deserter is?” he looked her in the eye.  
Charlotte was about to reply something to the effect of ‘a common criminal’ as the buzzer in the room suddenly sounded.  
The door opened almost straight away. When Charlotte looked over she saw the officer Jordan had been avoiding earlier.  
“Time to go,” she insisted, nodding to Charlotte with a stern expression.  
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief, casting Jordan one final glance before departing. He’d frozen.  
“Thanks again,” she said quickly before making her way out.  
The officer gave her a nod before simply closing the door behind her. Charlotte stood outside for a moment wondering why the woman with the clipboard wasn’t there to escort her.  
“Jordan?”  
Charlotte turned her head when she heard the officer talking to him. She’d been about to walk away, but the woman’s tone had caught her attention.  
“Get away from me,” she heard him respond.  
“No need to be rude.”  
“Miss Hunter?”  
Charlotte looked up to see her escort making her way down the hall. She paused a moment longer to see if she could hear anything else, but when nothing came through she soon followed the woman away.


	13. Informant

When Charlotte had Eden home and settled, she sat down onto her computer.  
When Jordan had asked her if she knew what a deserter was, she’d felt more than embarrassed. If she ever saw him again she wanted to be prepared with a proper answer.  
She began a search on ‘deserters’. The usual definitions came up – a person that had neglected a duty, or run from military responsibilities, etc. but she had a feeling there was more to the story. Jordan had insisted he’d been constantly raped, and she knew he considered her one of the perpetrators because he’d said his ‘please don’t’ before both their liaisons. So she searched in relation to the pregnancy scheme to see if there was a definition that would cover their situation.  
As far as she was aware, and as much as anyone she knew had been told, the process had been voluntary. Any man left after the war over the age of 18 and still able to produce had willingly given themselves to the program. There’d been no reason not to – they’d been headed for paradise. The centres they were kept at offered them anything they wanted, and their families had all been immensely gratified with subsidies from the government so much so that no wife or daughter left behind had to work. They were allowed visitors at any stage, and if they wanted to travel they only needed an escort.  
But then there were the deserters. To Charlotte’s knowledge they’d been men who’d either been in jail before the war (who’d since joined the war, and once returned safely had been returned to prison) or men who’d since broken the laws once the scheme had come into play. She had never been sure how the definition had fit but she was now determined to find out.  
She did hate the idea that the father of her children would be a deserter, and possibly a dangerous criminal, but Jordan had certainly not been what she would have expected from either.  
She needed to know more about him. She needed to know how he became one of _them_.  
As she searched through random webpages dedicated to the stories of the war and the aftermath, she came across a few to do with protesting the pregnancy scheme. Out of pure curiosity – as it wasn’t particularly what she was looking for – she found herself clicking away onto them.  
Propaganda started popping up everywhere, and she began to see some familiar faces behind it all. There seemed to be an entire movement against the scheme. She’d been aware of sometimes violent protests broadcast on the nightly news and she’d seen the occasional picketer outside the centres, but she’d had no idea how far this all seemed to go.  
Now more than curious, she began to look through videos.  
 _”Enough is enough!”_ one of the speakers came through, _”these men have been incarcerated – some for absolutely no reason whatsoever – for a ridiculous amount of time. They have rights! They have families at home waiting for them! They do not and have not ever deserved the treatment that they get on the inside.”_  
Charlotte watched the brunette talk with interest. She had to be talking about men like Jordan. She was already well convinced that for whatever he’d done, he didn’t deserve the treatment he was getting. She wasn’t all that sure that it truly constituted ‘rape’, but it obviously did in his eyes.  
 _”And our voices need to be heard, because this is not something that will go away on its own! We need to make them listen. We need to demand their freedom. We need to demand equal rights for both men and women just as our ancestors did for us, no matter their age or physicality! Fair trials for those who’ve committed such crimes, and thorough investigation into those who haven’t!”_  
“But why would they be in jail if they didn’t?” Charlotte asked herself, moving to another video.


	14. Reaching Out

“Well once again, congratulations are in order,” the doctor smiled to Charlotte, “you’re certainly pregnant.”  
“It worked,” Charlotte breathed.  
“Hmm?”  
“Oh,” Charlotte blushed, “they partnered me with Eden’s father again.”  
“I see,” the doctor nodded, looking slightly concerned but nonetheless dismissive, “would you like to book another appointment for January so we can determine the sex?”  
“Yes, definitely,” Charlotte nodded.  
“And how is little Eden?”  
“She’s great, nothing to report,” Charlotte shrugged, “but I’ve been meaning to ask about vaccinations…”  
“I’m afraid they aren’t available at this time,” the doctor replied absently as she clicked away on her computer.  
“Oh.”  
There was an awkward moment of silence after that.  
“How does January 13th sound?”  
“Great,” Charlotte nodded.  
“Good. Well if there isn’t anything else… I’ll see you in two months,” the doctor turned to her with a smile.  
“That you will,” Charlotte smiled back, though it was hard.  
She made her way out of the office, pausing to collect Eden from the crèche in the waiting room. She’d known to some extent that it was going to be hard raising a daughter in a country so focused on increasing male population, but it confused her as to why they disregarded the girls so easily. Eventually the girls would be needed also, or they were going to end up with the opposite problem to what they had now.  
With a defeated sigh she and Eden made their way home and she settled her into her playpen while she returned to her computer. She’d recently been talking to someone she’d met on a forum dedicated to the protests taking place at various detention centres and political refuges – all against the pregnancy scheme. She almost felt guilty at having taken advantage of the scheme not only once but twice now, but for one she wouldn’t give Eden up for anyone or anything – and two it was because of the grant money that she’d been able to get a computer and do the research in the first place.  
When she logged on she was glad to see her friend online.  
 **CrimsonH:** _Hey, glad to see you on! Got some q’s…_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Hey Char. Shoot!_  
 **CrimsonH:** _I was at the doc’s today asking about vaccinations for my daughter and they offered me nothing, but I’m pretty sure they offer them to baby boys… is that right?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Yep spot on. They won’t care about girls for a long time. All part of the program. There’s places you can go to get them but they’ll charge you for it._  
 **CrimsonH:** _I have money, I just want my baby girl to stay healthy._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Cool. I’ll hook you up with someone in the morning._


	15. Confirmation

“Looks like you have a healthy baby in there.”  
“Okay…” Charlotte wasn’t going to get her hopes up just yet.  
She knew what it would mean if it turned out to be another girl. On the one hand she’d likely get to see Jordan again, but on the other… she wasn’t sure she could go through it all so many times.  
“And congratulations,” the doctor turned to her with a smile, “it’s a boy.”  
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief and leant back into the chair. She’d been so paranoid about the baby’s sex that she could have cried.  
“Now you know what this means,” the doctor continued on without noticing, “you will need to come back for constant check-ups over the next seven months, and of course your payment scheme will increase to cover any inconvenience.”  
“Thank you,” Charlotte was saying it to both the doctor and whoever was looking down on her.  
“You’re very welcome.”  
The doctor began to pack up and offered Charlotte a towel to wipe the gel from her baby bump.  
“So I haven’t really asked before…” Charlotte began cautiously as she did so, “but I have the option to have another one, don’t I? I mean after the boy.”  
“You do,” the doctor nodded as she printed the ultrasound, “but you’re aware that the possibility of having another girl is pretty high?”  
“It’s fifty-fifty, right?” Charlotte shrugged.  
“Pretty much,” the doctor mused, “but you also know that having another girl means compulsory termination?”  
“I do,” Charlotte didn’t want to admit it, but she didn’t want to lie either, “I just want to know my options as far as multiple children go.”  
“You’re more than welcome to try again,” the doctor shrugged, “but let’s focus on this little guy first, shall we? I’ll schedule your next appointment for mid-February if that’s alright with you.”  
“Sure,” Charlotte nodded.  
She was already working out how to redecorate the nursery in her head. Aside from spending time with Eden and a lot of time online recently to keep up with the protestors and what they were doing, she really didn’t have much else to do.  
Her mother was finally going to be happy that it was a boy at least.


	16. Getting To The Truth

**CrimsonH:** _Can you tell me what they do? I mean I’m told that because they’re ‘deserters’ they deserve whatever they get, but it sounds like they’re almost going back to medieval times._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _That’s a good way to put it Char. It practically is medieval. The jails aren’t even up to the standard they were before the war because they haven’t been able to afford the amenities._  
 **CrimsonH:** _How do you mean?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Picture being locked in this tiny little room, nothing more than a bed and a toilet if you’re lucky. There’s no tv, no books, no radio, no nothing. All you have are the guards patrolling, and not all of them like you. Actually probably none of them like you, because you’re being treated like an animal – like a different species._  
 **CrimsonH:** _Is it true some of the guards rape the deserters?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _We don’t have any proof of it happening but it’s definitely a rumour._  
Charlotte had to pause at that. She was trying to remember back to her second encounter with Jordan, and what had happened afterward.   
**1stHopeLastDef:** _I feel like I should ask if you know something we could use…_  
Charlotte winced at that. So far she’d managed to not give away that she was actually in the program, and for the small amount of time she’d been talking to this person she didn’t want to lose their trust already.  
 **CrimsonH:** _Maybe, but not for sure. Evidence is the problem. Do they really not even have a tv?_  
She hoped brushing over it would work.  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Not even a tv. Story goes that as more and more deserters found creative ways to kill themselves they had more and more things taken away. I’ve heard some jails don’t even allow sheets on the bed because of guys hanging themselves with them._  
 **CrimsonH:** _That’s insane! The men would really rather die?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Wouldn’t you? As a deserter their chances of ever being free again are slim to begin with. Unless we manage to force an entire overhaul of the government, but the general public are still convinced it’s all for the ‘greater good’ thanks to the vice grip on the media. And deserters are nothing more than common criminals to the layman._  
Charlotte paused again. She remembered Jordan saying something to the effect of ‘ _if_ ’ he survived, but she’d passed it off as prisoner depression.   
**CrimsonH:** _What’s your definition of a deserter?_  
She hated to sound blonde, but she’d come this far. Might as well bite the bullet.  
There was a pause before the response came through.  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _A deserter is someone the government considers a traitor for choosing not to serve their country because they’d rather honour their wedding vows or religious views. Of course by ‘serving their country’ I mean having sex on a regular basis with people they don’t even know._  
 **CrimsonH:** _But then how did they end up in jail?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Any reason the officers on the ground could find. Unpaid parking tickets, being argumentative with officers (none of which have evidence), and I heard once that some woman in a store got into a fight with a guy so the officer planted something on him and arrested him for stealing from the store. They find ways to get them, it isn’t hard._


	17. Strategy

Charlotte was just getting home from her mother’s house when she received notification on her phone that she had an email. She quickly set Eden in her playpen before settling Jorryn into his crib and heading for her computer.  
 _Hey Char,_  
 _If I remember right, you’re in Chicago? Thought you might be interested in this. Clara’s heading your way in about two weeks._  
“Clara?” Charlotte couldn’t help but say aloud.  
Since she’d been talking to him, Clara had come up a few times. Clara was the woman seen in the majority of the protest videos - in most cases leading marches and giving proactive speeches. She wasn’t entirely sure of her story (as she seemed like a person Charlotte really couldn’t see herself meeting, not to mention she came across very intimidating) but she’d heard bits and pieces and had come to assume that she had a brother or the like who’d been taken as a deserter.  
 _Not sure if I’m coming with her at this stage or not, but we’re going to try and drum up as much publicity as possible before she gets there. Anything you can do to help would be great. She’ll be aiming for the detention centre there and then taking it to City Hall. Could be there for about a week at this stage depending on the law enforcement._  
Charlotte immediately began thinking of ways to possibly help. Maybe putting up flyers, sending out an (anonymous) email to everyone on her list, contacting local media…  
 _We don’t know all that many people in Chicago but we know the centre there is one of the bigger ones aside from San Fran and Houston. Anything you could offer would be awesome. Shoot me a line, thanks!_  
 _John._  
Charlotte did a quick check and saw that he was online.  
 **CrimsonH:** _Hey just got your email._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Awesome. What do you think?_  
 **CrimsonH:** _I’ll help any way I can. I’ll spread the word but let me know if there’s anything else I can do._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _I was hoping you’d say that. Turns out I’m coming with after all._  
Charlotte couldn’t help but grin at that. She’d been looking forward to meeting him.  
 **CrimsonH:** _Great! I’ll finally get to meet you!_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Yeah about that… we’re also trying to keep on the downlow where we’re staying. There’s a lot of people against what we’re doing, you see._  
 **CrimsonH:** _I’ve noticed. You’ve got nothing to worry about from me._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _Actually I was hoping you might know somewhere quiet we could stay?_  
Charlotte paused. She didn’t know many motels in the area but she could certainly look for them.  
 **CrimsonH:** _How many of you are there?_  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _At this stage just me, Clara and Walker. We don’t really want to bring the whole team, and a few of them want to concentrate their efforts on Houston and getting the president to come out of hiding._  
 **CrimsonH:** _I get it. But… if there’s only the three of you you’re welcome to crash here. If you can handle my kids that is._  
 **1stHopeLastDef:** _That’d be awesome! We’re all from a big family so that’s cool!_


	18. Boarder

Charlotte felt her heart skip a beat as the doorbell rang. She did a quick check of Jorryn to make sure that it hadn’t woken him before rushing over to answer it.  
Standing on her porch was a teenager with a backpack, with striking red hair and a smile on his face.  
“Charlotte?” he asked.  
“Yes?” she tried not to look as surprised as she felt.  
“Hey, I’m John,” he extended his hand in a friendly gesture.  
“Hey,” she responded, awkwardly shaking his hand.  
“Sorry… have I come at a bad time?” he looked a little worried.  
“No, no!” Charlotte assured, “I just wasn’t expecting… I mean I’ve seen you in Clara’s videos but I thought…”  
“You didn’t know I was me?” a cheeky grin crossed his face, “you’d be surprised how often I get that. May I?”  
He indicated the door, hoping to not have their impending conversation out on the porch. Charlotte nodded and stepped aside to let him walk through.  
“It’s just you?” she asked, taking another look outside before closing the door behind him.  
“For now,” he was having a quick look around, “we don’t really like travelling together. It’s too obvious, and a bit dangerous for us.”  
“Please,” Charlotte indicated the sofa, “do you need a drink or anything?”  
“I’m fine, thanks,” John smiled as he slid the backpack from his shoulders.  
But he didn’t sit down. He soon spotted Eden’s playpen and made his way over to that instead.  
“Is this Eden?” he asked, looking wary as he got closer.  
“Yeah,” Charlotte scratched her head.  
She watched his back as he stood and looked down at her for a moment. Something about his stance seemed familiar, and it made her lose concentration for a moment.  
“How old is she?”  
John breaking the silence snapped her out of it.  
“Uh…” Charlotte grit her teeth a little, “she turned one in July. So just over fourteen months.”  
John took a moment to process that before quickly stepping aside and pulling out his cell phone.  
“What are you doing?” Charlotte frowned as he dialled, darting over to the pen and pulling Eden up into her arms.  
“Mom?” he said into the phone, “change of plans, you can’t come here.”  
Charlotte felt a chill run down her spine at the urgency in his voice. Nothing else was said for a moment, but she could hear a voice on the other end of the line.  
“Yeah I know,” he finally responded, “but go to plan B. I’ll get back to you later.”  
He quickly hung up and returned the phone to his pocket. There was an awkward moment of silence as he covered his mouth with his hand before he turned back to watch Charlotte holding Eden.  
“You’re in the program, aren’t you?”  
Charlotte gulped a little. She had managed to keep that under wraps for as long as she’d been talking to him, but she didn’t think it would be so much of a deal either.  
“Yes,” she admitted honestly, “it’s… why I found you.”  
“Are you working for them?” his eyes narrowed.  
“Working for who?” Charlotte was honestly confused, “the people who run it? No. I work for no one. I don’t need to anymore.”


	19. Underhanded

“Then what’s your angle?”  
Charlotte’s face flushed red. She didn’t like the look he was giving her one bit, but she knew she owed him an explanation.  
She carefully returned Eden to the playpen before folding her arms and avoiding the young man’s gaze.  
“I went into the program the year before last,” she admitted, “it was just… something you do, you know. Like joining the army or whatever. I didn’t think anything of it. The first two times I tried it, I couldn’t get pregnant.”  
She shot him a glance. His expression hadn’t changed.  
“So the third time they put me with a deserter.”  
“Dammit,” John cursed, running his fingers through his fringe.  
“I didn’t know any better at the time!” Charlotte defended, “but the man I met? I knew something was wrong. So I started researching. I didn’t know what to believe. Then because I had a girl I had to go back and they put me with the same… They partnered me with the same guy because it worked before. And I spoke to him.”  
“You what?” John’s eyebrows rose.  
“I spoke with him,” Charlotte repeated, “and he told me he’d been raped over a hundred times, and that a lot of it was staff.”  
She blanched a little at the stare John was giving her before he seemed to suddenly snap out of it.  
“Do you have evidence?” he asked straight away.  
“I only have his word,” Charlotte shook her head with regret, “but if there’s any possible way I could use that, I would.”  
“They won’t take your word,” John said thoughtfully, “everything about this campaign is he-said she-said and the media is not on our side. We need to…”  
He trailed off, obviously struggling to think.  
“We need to work out a plan.”  
“John…” Charlotte cautiously took his attention, “they’ve offered for me to go back. I mean I have to wait until at least mid-October because Jorryn’s only a month old, but…”  
“Would you mind if I told Clara?” John cut in.  
“Clara?” Charlotte could feel her face pale.  
“Yeah,” she could see John’s brain ticking over, “I mean she could go either way. She might forbid me to have anything to do with you, or she might come up with a plan. If they’ve invited you back and you can get evidence _other_ than the deserter’s word… we might actually have something to fight with.”


	20. Stand

Charlotte felt her nerves skyrocket as she followed John through the crowd. They were in a park not far from City Hall, and there were certainly plenty of people around.  
She was suddenly glad for her mother offering to babysit Jorryn today.  
“Hey,” he turned to get her attention.  
“Yeah?” she asked, nerves showing in her voice.  
“It’s okay,” he offered her a reassuring grin, “nothing bad will happen, I promise.”  
“You promise?” her eyebrows rose, “I’ve seen how some of these things go.”  
“We’ll be fine,” he assured, “just act like you don’t know me and walk away. If the cops show they can’t hold me. I’ll contact you later.”  
“Why can’t they hold you?” Charlotte frowned, confused.  
John just gave her a smirk before stooping to unzip his backpack. He pulled out a white megaphone with the word ‘SHOUT’ scrawled down the sides. Charlotte recognised it instantly from the videos.  
“Mingle with the crowd,” he insisted softly before replacing his backpack over his shoulders and suddenly disappearing from sight.  
Charlotte gulped slightly, absently fixing Eden’s hair. She had no idea what to do, but she knew instinctively that chaos was about to erupt.  
“ATTENTION CHICAGO!”  
All heads turned slightly to Charlotte’s left. There was John, standing on a table in the park with his megaphone out and going.  
“For too long you people have been deceived! The time has come for you to open your eyes!”  
“I think that’s Johnny…” Charlotte heard someone in the crowd whisper as they began to move toward him.  
“Since the war the media has corrupted you into believing false truths, and plenty of them! It’s time for you to go out and find for yourselves what is really happening out there! Case in point, I call to your attention the issue of deserters – some of which are held right here in your detention centre!”  
There came a collective groan from a few people and some simply walked away.  
“They are _not_ the common criminals they have made out to be! Their only crime was loyalty to their families and to their religious beliefs!”  
“What about loyalty to their country?” a woman called out.  
“The deserters all fought in the war, did you?!” was John’s comeback, “they all – every single one of them – fought hard for their country. They were out on the fields watching their brothers die in front of their eyes, and for what?! They fought for _you_ so that you could continue living in liberty! How did you repay them? You forgot about them!”  
He darted a quick glance to the left. When Charlotte followed his eye line she could see blue flashing lights in the distance.  
“But we didn’t, and I’m here to tell anyone that will listen that _we are here_! Clara is coming and we are _taking Chicago_! The government will be held accountable for what they’ve done to these men and we will see them freed!”  
There were some shouts in the distance and Charlotte could see officers running in John’s direction. His only response was to raise his hand.  
“I’d like to quickly say that my name is John and as of today I am seventeen years old. You all bear witness to what happens here and if you remain silent then you are a part of the problem.”  
Charlotte watched the officers pause in their stride before John leapt down and bolted.


	21. Doom on the Horizon

When Charlotte had settled her children for the night and she still hadn’t heard from John, she’d become more than worried. At one point she even checked online to see if he’d left her any messages as she knew he often didn’t like using phones but there’d been nothing.  
He’d told her not to worry, but perhaps because she was now a mother herself she couldn’t really help it. She also hadn’t known that he’d only been seventeen. But then she realised if he were any older he probably would have been in the program already…  
She was contemplating the thought when she heard a soft knock at the door. Trying not to be obvious she rushed over to answer it.  
To her relief John was standing on the porch, looking a little tired and worse for wear but otherwise alright.  
“What happened?” she asked incredulously.  
John indicated inside and she let him in before closing the door again. He dropped his backpack by the door and ran his fingers through his hair.  
“Sorry I took so long,” he apologised, obviously tired.  
“What happened?” she tried again.  
“The cops happened,” he smirked, “can I get a drink of water or something?”  
“Sure,” Charlotte frowned, “the kitchen’s yours.”  
“Thanks,” he headed straight for it, quickly taking a glass from the sink and filling it from the tap.  
“So the cops got you?” Charlotte followed him, trying to keep her voice down.  
“Yeah,” he admitted, “I got out maybe an hour ago. Took me that long to walk here.”  
“I thought you said they couldn’t hold you?” she tried to understand, “or is it because you’re still seventeen?”  
He turned his back on the sink as he drank, avoiding her gaze as he did so.  
“They can only hold me a certain amount of time for questioning,” he explained, “with each state we’ve found it’s different, but most of the time when they either find out my age or they have enough witnesses – like in the park – they’re not too worried about letting me go.”  
“Why?” Charlotte was almost afraid to ask.  
“Because they know once I’m eighteen I’ll be taken in anyhow,” he finally made eye contact, “they already have plenty of reasons to detain me. I’ll be considered a deserter.”  
Charlotte hesitated, covering her mouth. The loyalty to the cause was making even more sense now.  
“How long do you have? Before your birthday?” she asked.  
“A few weeks,” he admitted, his face flushing red a little, “my birthday’s the end of October.”  
“So it’s going to happen soon,” Charlotte was worried again.  
John just nodded, before turning to place the glass on the sink.  
“But we can’t think about that right now,” he insisted, “right now the important thing is the Chicago campaign. We need to get the word out to as many people as possible and today was a good start. They know we’re here.”  
“When’s Clara coming?” Charlotte folded her arms across her chest defensively.  
John offered her his trademark cheeky grin.  
“She’s already here.”


	22. Letter

“John?!” Charlotte called.  
A fumbling was heard before he appeared from one of the bedrooms, holding Jorryn precariously in one arm. He found her standing by the kitchen bench with a letter in her hands.  
“What is it?” he asked, shaking some hair out of his eyes.  
“Letter of confirmation,” Charlotte held it up though she knew he couldn’t read from that far, “they want me to go back.”  
John diverted his eyes, squeezing Jorryn a little as he rocked him off to sleep. It amazed Charlotte how good he was with kids obviously having none of his own.  
“Do you think I should?”  
“What?” he gave her a scornful look.  
“You know… do you think there’s maybe a chance I could get evidence? From the inside?” Charlotte clarified.  
John hesitated thoughtfully.  
“Have you ever had a chance before?” he asked.  
“You mean when I was with him?” Charlotte frowned.  
“Yeah,” John lowered his voice as Jorryn drifted off, “do you think there’s an easy way for you to record anything?”  
Charlotte hesitated, trying to think back to when her son was conceived.   
“They don’t search me,” he shook her head, “if I had a camera or microphone small enough… like on my phone maybe…”  
“You could get caught,” John shook his head, “I don’t want to risk that. The officers randomly watch the liaisons just to make sure everything’s going to plan.”  
“I haven’t been watched,” Charlotte insisted, “there’s this… viewing room, which looks through a mirror in the room. I get taken in when the officers bring the guy in. Once they’re done I’m taken out and they lock the door with a large deadbolt. If it was opened again we’d hear it from inside the room, that’s how I know we weren’t being watched.”  
John began pacing the kitchen, careful to keep a steady rhythm to his movement.  
“There could be another way of opening the door,” he thought out loud, “or another way into the viewing room. But I can guarantee you were being watched somehow.”  
“There’s no cameras in the room…” Charlotte trailed off before her eyes widened slightly, “but last time, I swear the buzzer went early, and an officer came in almost straight away. That’s when I think he was raped. No one was there to greet me when I was done, so…”  
She paused, wringing her hands nervously.  
“If that happened again, maybe I could get into that room.”  
“What are the chances of it happening twice in a row?” John frowned.  
“It didn’t happen the first time,” Charlotte assured, “maybe because I’d been there before they figured I’d be a quick in and out? That they’d have time to… to hurt him.”  
John paused, continuing to rock Jorryn a little.  
“Let me call Clara,” he insisted, “I’ll talk it over with her first. She might know something we don’t about the ins and outs of the operation.”  
“She hasn’t told you everything?” Charlotte frowned.  
“You never know,” John shrugged, “but I’ll call first thing tomorrow just to make sure. I need to go put Jorryn down.”


	23. The Lam

“So Clara wants to meet you.”  
“What?” Charlotte looked up from where she’d been bouncing Eden on her lap.  
“She wants to meet you,” John looked both happy and concerned at the same time.  
He took up a seat on the sofa across from the girls and bounced the cell phone in his hands.  
“She wasn’t happy at first – obviously – but when I brought up your idea she realised you wouldn’t really have a reason to suggest it if you were trying to sabotage us-“  
“Sabotage?”  
“-so… she wants to go over specifics with you and see if we can’t work something out.”  
“Why would she think I’d try and sabotage you?” Charlotte was confused.  
“It’s been done,” John shrugged, “people trying to get close to us to expose where we are to the authorities.”  
“But the authorities can’t hold you anyway?”  
“They can’t hold me,” John corrected, “but Clara and Walker? They have conspiracy on. Walker not so much as he tends to play peacekeeper a lot, but Clara… it wouldn’t do good for her to be caught.”  
“But the cops jumped you so easily the other day,” Charlotte shook her head, “they’re going to get Clara just as easily if she starts making a speech.”  
“Clara’s not as… flamboyant as I am,” John mused, “she’s smarter about what she does. Consider me the pawn. I go out and drum up interest. I get the people talking. Think of it as shock value, maybe. They realise something’s coming. By the time Clara turns up everyone’s already waiting and you’d be surprised how many of them actually want to hear what she has to say.”  
He took a deep breath and sighed.  
“But yeah, usually the team is here to help. This time we’ll be relying on the general public.”  
“You’re worried?” Charlotte thought she’d check.  
“Of course,” John admitted, avoiding her gaze, “but that’s nothing new.”  
There was a moment of silence as Charlotte just watched him.  
“You keep saying you don’t like phones, but you still use them…” she began, confused.  
“Just for us,” John quickly clarified, “they’re disposables, easy to replace and hard to trace. The most they’ll get from these is that we’re in Chicago. We don’t really have regular access to computers so it’s just easier.”  
Charlotte nodded at that.  
“Well you’re welcome to use my computer,” she offered.  
“Thanks, but…” John winced a little, “that can be traced. We need to use ones with public access, and then clear the area as soon as we can.”  
“Sounds complicated.”  
“Not when you’ve been doing it a while,” John shrugged, “and it helps that there’s not many of us to look after.”  
“Right…” Charlotte nodded, “but you did say you were from a big family, and you’re so good with Jorryn…”  
“My brothers and sisters are at a safe house,” John explained, “hopefully one day this will all blow over and we can get back to them. But I’m not counting on that being anytime soon.”


	24. The Park

“Miss Hunter?”  
Charlotte looked across at the woman who’d taken up a seat beside her on the park bench. She wore a wide brimmed sunhat and large round sunglasses, but Charlotte could tell exactly who she was.  
This was Clara. This was the woman from all the online videos.  
“Yes?” she stammered a little.  
Clara smiled and removed her sunglasses. Charlotte couldn’t help but be surprised. Her large brown eyes were deceptively kind.  
“It’s nice to meet you Charlotte,” she nodded with honesty, “John has told me a lot about you.”  
“I hope not too much,” Charlotte blushed.  
“He told me that you may be willing to help us on a deeper level,” Clara’s intent was clear, “I’d like to offer any assistance we possibly can.”  
Charlotte took a nervous glance around the park. There weren’t many people – aside from those watching their children on the playground – but perhaps spending so long with John had made her paranoid. Still she was glad for his offer to watch Eden and Jorryn.  
“I think the plan is pretty straightforward,” Charlotte lowered her voice nonetheless, “but if you have access to any special kind of cameras or microphones, that would help.”  
“Unfortunately we’re not spies,” Clara mused.  
Charlotte felt her face flush red. She could feel Clara’s eyes sizing her up.  
“How old are you?” she asked suddenly.  
“I’ll be twenty-two at the start of the year,” Charlotte admitted.  
“I thought so,” Clara nodded, “you’re not much older than John.”  
“Is that a problem?” Charlotte frowned.  
“No,” Clara assured, “it means you can run if you need to.”  
Charlotte gulped a little at that. Clara sensed her minor panic and offered her a warm smile.  
“Don’t worry,” she insisted, reaching over to rub the girl’s shoulder reassuringly, “I doubt you’re going to have much of a problem. John tells me you already have two children from the program.”  
Charlotte nodded, unable to say anything to that.  
“Then it should be easy, as long as the detention guards decide to play along. If they don’t…” Clara shrugged, “we can always say it didn’t work and book another interview.”  
“I remember them saying,” Charlotte thought out loud, “that if for some reason we couldn’t… you know… that I could try again at a later date.”  
“Exactly,” Clara nodded, “so don’t worry too much if your first attempt doesn’t work out. But don’t go out of your way to make it happen – it’ll only put you in harm’s way.”  
“What could happen to me if I get caught?” Charlotte figured she’d know just as well as anyone else.  
“A short term incarceration I’d imagine,” Clara shrugged, “nothing more. For already having children in the program you’ve done your duty to society. They may just revoke your subsidies.”  
Charlotte took another deep breath. She needed that money. But not as much as she needed to see Jordan free.  
“I think you know what you need to do,” Clara broke what Charlotte hadn’t realised had been a long silence, “and I’m never more than a call away if you decide you need more help.”  
“Thank you,” Charlotte watched as she stood from the bench.  
Without another word she slid her handbag over her shoulder and casually strolled from the park.


	25. Return

“Charlotte, welcome back,” the woman in the white coat smiled.  
Charlotte momentarily wished she’d bothered to learn her name. She guessed she soon would anyhow.  
“Right this way,” she led Charlotte now the familiar corridor.  
“Thanks,” Charlotte felt she should at least say something.  
She knew she looked nervous. She was hoping it would only be reminiscent of her first day and nothing more.  
“Now you’re aware… oh.”  
“What?” Charlotte asked, nerves reaching a peak.  
“Nothing,” the woman smiled again, “I was about to go over the details but it seems you’ve been paired with a suitor indefinitely. Right this way.”  
Charlotte breathed an internal sigh of relief as she was led into the viewing room. There’d always been the niggling feeling that they might put her with someone other than Jordan, but considering her past failures she was hoping they’d stick with the tried and true. When she looked through and saw him in the room she finally knew that they had.  
“So are you well-versed enough in how this goes or do you need a reminder?” the woman checked, “I’ll gladly go over anything you might want to… refresh yourself with.”  
Charlotte frowned a little as she realised Jordan was arguing with one of the guards. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but she thought it may have been the one he’d been avoiding last time she’d seen him. Jordan appeared to be on the losing end of the argument, which was only confirmed when the female officer took her baton from her belt.  
Charlotte’s heart leapt into her throat. If he was being defiant they might not let her see him.  
“She’s not going to hit him, is she?” she broke the otherwise silence in the booth, noting that he was still shackled and couldn’t defend himself if he needed to.  
She wished she could film this.  
“No, it’ll just be a warning,” the woman replied absently as she marked off some paperwork, “some of the deserters like to play up now and again. It’s nothing to worry about.”  
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed as the second officer unlocked Jordan’s shackles and instructed him to strip from his uniform. He did so avoiding eye contact with the aggressive officer before taking his assigned place on the mattress. A few choice words were said as he was locked down and the officers finally both departed. Charlotte watched on as Jordan grit his teeth and let his head hit the mattress, once again closing his eyes.  
“Shall we?”  
Charlotte jumped as the woman indicated the door. She nodded and led the way out, quickly turning to watch as the door was bolted behind them. She couldn’t see another way for it to open as John had insisted there must be, but she didn’t have all that much time to look.  
“One hour, you know the drill,” the woman smiled, stepping past to open the door into the room where Jordan was waiting, “and good luck!”


	26. On Record

Charlotte did a quick check of the room to make sure that they hadn’t installed any cameras since she’d been last time, before dropping her handbag by the door. She eyed the mirror – John’s warning ringing in her ears – before taking off her shoes and using the moment to set the audio recorder going and slip her cell phone into the front pocket of her jeans.  
Then she made her way over to the bed. As usual, he didn’t move.  
“Jordan?”  
His eyes sprang open and settled on her. It made her jump.  
She glanced toward the mirror before taking a seat on the side of the bed. Just in case they really were being watched, she began to unbutton her shirt.  
“I need you to talk to me,” she said softly, darting a quick glance over her shoulder at him.  
He was frowning and already looking toward the mirror.  
“I know you think they’re watching,” Charlotte insisted, “but they’re not the only ones this time.”  
“What?” he was thoroughly confused.  
Charlotte got her shirt off and stood to remove her jeans. When she did she left them sitting on the side of the bed, close to his chest and still within audio range.  
“I want to help you,” Charlotte wasn’t sure how else to say it as she slid her underwear down before getting onto the bed again herself.  
“I’ve heard that one,” Jordan certainly didn’t seem as worried about talking to her as he had been the last time.  
“I mean it,” Charlotte frowned, wondering why on Earth she’d lie about it, “I’ve been in contact with John and Clara.”  
“Who are they?”  
Charlotte bit her lip as she paused. He’d certainly been here a long time.  
“They’re protesters,” she explained, “they’re campaigning for the release of deserters.”  
Jordan’s eyebrows rose at that. Charlotte realised he didn’t believe her.  
“It’s true,” she insisted, “and they want to help you. I already have two children I don’t need to be here.”  
“You knew my name,” he was frowning again.  
“Yeah… you fathered both of them,” Charlotte blushed a little, “that’s kinda why I want to help you.”  
“By having another?”  
“No,” Charlotte knew she’d better at least make it look like she was complying so quickly took up the position on the bed, “I was going to honour your ‘please don’t’ today.”  
Jordan just looked confused, and worried.  
“Why would you do that?” he asked softly.  
“I need you to tell me how many times you’ve been raped,” her voice was just as quiet.  
He closed his eyes again, as if expecting her to take back her word at any moment.  
“Two hundred and forty-seven,” he replied.  
“How many were staff?” she felt him flinch as she took hold of him.  
“Fifty-nine,” he frowned, “thirty-eight I couldn’t refuse because I was gagged, and six before I thought to start.”  
Charlotte bit her lip as she worked. The numbers were a lot higher than what she remembered.  
“What are you doing?” he asked without opening his eyes.  
“I need to make it look real,” she insisted, “just relax into it if you can. It’ll be over soon.”


	27. Buying Time

“What were you arguing about?” Charlotte asked sometime later.  
“With the guard?” Jordan’s eyebrows rose, already in a slightly better mood, “the usual. That one likes to taunt.”  
“Has she raped you?” Charlotte sat to the side, reaching over to collect her underwear and replace it.  
“She’s the main offender,” Jordan replied bluntly.  
“Do you think she’ll do it again today?”  
Jordan frowned at that before he looked across to her. She felt his eyes on her back and turned to face him.  
“Why?” he asked.  
“Because if she does…” Charlotte kept her voice down, “well, we have plans for that. And not to belittle you or anything but we were kinda hoping for it.”  
Jordan paused at that before returning his eyes to the ceiling. He looked like he didn’t know what to say.  
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte quickly apologised, “I know it seems like we’re using you…”  
“You are using me,” Jordan remained blunt, “I just hope this is worth it. I’m sure you’ll be getting your wish today.”  
Charlotte tried not to look happy at that. She knew it was something these men killed themselves over.  
“You think she’ll do it?” she had to confirm.  
“After the day she’s had and the attitude I got earlier?” Jordan pointed out, “I will be very surprised if she doesn’t. But sometimes she does it back in the cell so if you have something planned for it I don’t know how…”  
“Can you describe your cell?” Charlotte cut in, suddenly remembering things she was supposed to record and knowing she was running out of time.  
“There’s nothing to describe,” Jordan shrugged as best he could.  
“How so?” Charlotte pressed, “I’ve heard you don’t have a TV or anything, but what about amenities and such? Can you talk to people?”  
“Sometimes,” Jordan looked away, “if you yell loud enough. But they’re not barred cells, they’re solid doors. It’s hard to hear anything. It’s usually not worth it.”  
“What do you get to occupy your time with?” Charlotte took her time getting dressed, leaving her jeans for last.  
“Nothing,” he replied.  
“There can’t be nothing,” she frowned, “what do you do when you’re not here?”  
Jordan sighed before closing his eyes again.  
“Mostly just wish I was free,” he admitted, “we used to have TVs, but they were taken when some guy managed to electrocute himself with one. Books were taken because people swallowed the pages until they choked. Sheets were taken from the beds because people hung themselves. Same with clothing, so now the jumpsuits are locked onto us.”  
“How many people have died in there?” Charlotte remembered his shackles, but couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  
“I don’t know,” Jordan shook his head, before both their heads shot up as the buzzer sounded.  
“It’s early again,” Charlotte’s eyes darted as she realised.


	28. Witness

“She’s coming,” Jordan looked worried again as Charlotte quickly replaced her jeans.  
She turned back to him momentarily, wishing she didn’t have to leave.  
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, before turning to go for her shoes and handbag.  
“Thank you,” Jordan called after her, a moment before the door opened.  
The dreaded guard entered and Charlotte could feel the colour drain from her face.  
“This way Miss Hunter,” she indicated outside, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, “someone will be here to meet you shortly.”  
“Yes ma’am,” Charlotte nodded, giving Jordan one last glance before slipping through.  
The door was closed after her and Charlotte took a quick look down the corridor. Once again there was no one in sight.  
She stepped over to the viewing booth and took a quick look at the bolt. It hadn’t moved. Keeping one eye over her shoulder in case the woman in the white coat were to appear at any second, she ran her fingertips down the side that opened. When she came to where the bolt sat, she felt a small nook in the wall.  
With a frown she looked closer, before realising what it was there for.  
She quickly looked to the other side of the door – the one that held the hinges. There was a small ring that sat level with the bolt, and when she tried pulling on it she heard a small click.  
The door came apart. Another quick look to check she was alone, and Charlotte slipped into the viewing booth.   
She quickly took out her phone and stopped the voice recorder, going through her applications to find the video camera instead. As she was doing so she realised she could smell coffee.  
A quick look to the bench below the window showed an almost-empty mug. It was still warm.  
“Son of a-“ she cut herself off, knowing she might be heard if she made a sound.  
She could clearly hear what was going on in the room in front of her.  
“Fuck. You,” Jordan spat.  
“I noticed you were in a talkative mood today,” the guard came back.  
Charlotte darted a quick look up as she waited for the camera to load. The guard already had her pants off and was doing something she couldn’t see to Jordan’s privates.  
“What do you care?!”  
“I do love it when you’re in a feisty mood,” the guard mused, finishing whatever she was doing and quickly removing her underwear.  
As she stepped aside and retrieved the baton from her belt, Charlotte quickly hit record. It didn’t take long for her to see what she’d done… Jordan was now wearing a condom.  
“What the…?” she breathed.  
“What are you doing?” Jordan eyed the baton as the guard climbed on top of him.  
“We don’t want anyone disturbing us now, do we?” the guard trailed the baton gently from his groin to his chin, before suddenly forcing it sideways across his throat.  
Charlotte had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself making a noise as Jordan choked under the pressure. His hands flew to the baton to try and push it off but he couldn’t gain the leverage. As he choked the guard stuffed her underwear into his mouth making Charlotte grimace.  
“Leave it in and we won’t have a problem, understand?” she lifted the baton a little so he could breathe.  
At his nod she moved it to hold down his right wrist instead before proceeding.


	29. Evidence

Charlotte was quiet as she walked through the front door an hour or so later. Her mind was reeling from the afternoon, and she already realised she’d forgotten to get dinner for everyone on the way home like she promised.  
As she closed the door behind her she felt a presence and jumped.  
“Hey,” John greeted, already looking worried, “are you okay?”  
“Yeah,” Charlotte nodded, not entirely honest.  
“Then… why are your knuckles white?” John’s eyes narrowed.  
That’s when Charlotte realised she was staring at him. She quickly took her hand bag from her shoulder and fished through for her phone.  
“Here,” she held it out.  
John gave her a curious look before stepping forward to take it. Charlotte took the break in movement to go and set her bag down before rubbing her face tiredly.  
“Did you get it?” he asked, not doing anything with the phone.  
“Yeah, I got it,” Charlotte almost laughed, “I think we got more than enough.”  
She planted herself on the sofa and put her head in her hand. John watched her before sitting down across from her.  
“It’s all on here?” he checked.  
Charlotte just nodded.  
“Can I ask… what exactly did you get?” his eyes narrowed, “can you give me specifics?”  
“Just watch it,” Charlotte shrugged.  
“I’d rather not,” John admitted.  
Charlotte eyed him a moment before diverting her eyes. She couldn’t blame him.  
“One of the officers raped him and I got it on video,” she admitted, her face flushing red, “she was brutal about it too.”  
“Well that’s good for us,” John tried to assure her, “maybe not for him, but for us. It could be invaluable evidence.”  
“She choked him until he let her gag him,” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, “and then after she was done? She beat him with her baton anyway. She said something about him having no more appointments for a while so the bruises had time to disappear.”  
John fell silent, deciding to give her the moment she obviously needed. The phone was starting to feel hot in his hands, and he wanted nothing more than to get it to Clara straight away.  
“I just can’t believe someone would do that to another person,” Charlotte shook her head after a moment.  
“It’s because they don’t consider them people anymore,” John shrugged, “they don’t have the same rights that we do. That you do.”  
Charlotte registered his pause, and leant forward.  
“I can’t let that happen to you,” she said determinedly, “not what he’s going through.”  
“Hopefully,” John held the phone up for emphasis, “this will not only stop it from happening, but it might help us free some deserters.”  
“You don’t understand-“  
“I understand fine,” John insisted with a reassuring smile, “but dwelling on it is just depressing, and not really helping the cause don’t you think?”  
Charlotte just bit her lip, not sure how he could be so calm about his impending future.


	30. Lion's Den

“Oh wow, she’s adorable!” Clara beamed as John passed Eden over.  
“You think so?” Charlotte had been worried.  
The head protestor against the program meeting a child from the program hadn’t left her much hope that they’d get along.  
“Of course,” Clara grinned, gently running her hand through Eden’s hair, “and beautiful blonde hair. My daughters are both blonde too.”  
“You have daughters?” Charlotte was glad to find common ground.  
Clara gave John a glance before looking down at where Charlotte was keeping Jorryn in his stroller.  
“I have five children,” she said with a smile, “three boys as well.”  
“Wow,” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose, “and all before the program?”  
“All before the war,” John put in, getting a sideways look from Clara.  
At the look he pulled out his phone to play with.  
“I believe you have something for me,” Clara gave Charlotte a nod.  
“Right,” Charlotte blushed a little, wondering if she’d hit a sore point.  
She’d obviously lost her partner to the war, like most women had.  
Clara patiently bounced Eden on her knee as Charlotte dug in her handbag for her phone. She searched through to look for the video before handing it over.  
“It’s a large file… I’m not sure how you want me to send this to you,” she looked between them.  
“Do you have email on here?” Clara asked as she took it and adjusted the screen so she could see.  
“Yeah, you can do that,” Charlotte nodded, watching for her reaction with interest.  
“ _What are you doing?_ ”  
The audio came through and Charlotte knew she’d started the video.  
“ _We don’t want anyone disturbing us now, do we?_ ”  
“This is perfect,” Clara shot John a glance.  
“Yeah?” he replied absently, finishing up with his phone and putting it away so he could pay attention.  
“Yes,” Clara insisted, “it’s very clear. We can get IDs on these two and take it to the media. They can’t ignore this, and if we’re fast enough they can’t squash it either.”  
“But what about him?” Charlotte indicated the phone, “what if he doesn’t want his… naked… well, what if he doesn’t want it everywhere?”  
“Desperate times…” John looked between them.  
“I’m sure he’d understand it was for the greater good,” Clara insisted, having already stopped the video and begun sifting through the phone to find Charlotte’s email.  
“But don’t you need permission or something-?”  
“And how are we supposed to get it?” John smirked.  
“John?”  
At Clara’s indication he quickly ducked around the park bench from where he’d been standing behind and took up Eden again so that Clara could concentrate.  
“I don’t know,” Charlotte admitted, “I just thought… you guys were the moral standpoint on this.”  
“We can worry about morals when he’s free, and he can sue the media’s ass himself,” Clara assured, catching Charlotte off guard.  
There was an awkward silence as Clara finished up.  
“Now. What else do you have?” she asked.


	31. Second Thoughts

“Clara doesn’t mind you staying with me, does she?” Charlotte thought to ask as John closed the door behind them.  
They’d just gotten back from the meeting in the park. John set his backpack down by the door with a grunt, switching Eden to the other arm.  
“Of course not,” he insisted, “I mean she wasn’t happy at first when she found out, but I think she’s cool now she’s met you and that you’ve helped. And helped big time, I might add.”  
Charlotte didn’t look sure, but she didn’t reply as she fetched the sleeping Jorryn from the stroller and struggled to put it away with one hand.  
“Here,” John darted over, setting Eden onto the floor on his way before helping her collapse it.  
“Thanks,” Charlotte stood to watch for a moment before opting to take Jorryn in to his crib.  
While she was in his bedroom she could hear John fixing the stroller almost professionally before his phone suddenly rang. She could hear him struggle to fetch it from his jeans before it woke Jorryn.  
The conversation was too quiet to hear, and it was really none of her business, so she settled Jorryn before darkening the bedroom and turning the monitor on before leaving the door open a crack and heading back to the living room.  
John was standing in the middle of the room in silence. One hand had the phone to his ear, the other tightly held his fringe.  
“Are you sure?” he asked after a long pause, not even noticing Charlotte had returned to the room, “I mean are you definitely sure? Because we weren’t… we didn’t know…”  
Charlotte could hear a voice on the other end of the line but couldn’t tell who it was. Feeling a bit awkward, she stepped over to the kitchen to put together a light lunch for the three of them still awake.  
“And you’re definitely sure?” John tried again, only pausing quickly this time, “but we can’t go ahead with this then, he’ll… no I know that, I’m not an idiot! But what are we going to… Mom! Wait a minute! We can’t just rush into this without thinking!”  
Charlotte raised a brow. She’d never heard a conversation between John and his mother get so heated. Not that they had many.  
“Can you just… wait?” John was pleading now, “I’m coming over. Don’t go anywhere, and don’t call anyone. I don’t want the team raining down on Chicago for nothing just yet. …You know that’s not what I meant! Just wait. I’ll be there in a half hour or less.”  
He quickly hung up before suddenly realising Charlotte was in the kitchen.  
“Something wrong?” she guessed.  
“You could say that,” John’s face flushed red as he looked down at Eden.  
He stared at her for a moment in a way that started making Charlotte uncomfortable. She’d never had that feeling before so she decided she needed to break it.  
“Your Mom’s in town?” she asked with worry in her voice.  
John snapped out of it, looking across at her.  
“Yeah,” his eyes darted, “I mean it’s complicated, but… sorry. I have to go. Tomorrow’s rally’s been cancelled but I’ll contact you with the new date.”  
He made for the front door, barely pausing to grab his backpack.  
“Are you okay?” Charlotte called after him with a frown.  
John just gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before disappearing through the door.


	32. Contact

Charlotte had finally settled both Eden and Jorryn down for the night, and decided to settle herself in front of the TV with a mug of hot chocolate and some terrible-show-viewing in mind. It had been three days or so since John had walked out and he hadn’t been contactable via the internet, but she was trying not to worry. He’d gone long stints without contacting her before and he’d always had a good reason.  
This one obviously had involved his mother somehow, and as redundant as the world seemed to view them these days she could understand that family was still more important than anything else.  
She set her mug aside and reached over for the remote, hearing the latest local news bulletin come on as she did so.  
“ _Scenes of anger outside City Hall today when the well-known pregnancy scheme protestor Clara took a stand at the doors and rallied the people to come and view what she believes is ‘proof’ that deserters aren’t being treated well inside the detention centres…_ ”  
“Condescending bitch,” Charlotte muttered in reference to the anchor’s tone.  
Her eyes glued to the screen as she saw the footage from City Hall. Clara was standing at the top of the steps addressing the people with her black megaphone, but the news wasn’t playing the audio of what she was saying. They also weren’t showing the screen she had, playing what Charlotte assumed was part of her video.  
“ _Most of the public were easily able to avoid the display, but it did cause some headaches for our local members of government. They were able to return to work safely when the demonstration was forced to halt at the arrival of the authorities later in the morning._ ”  
“What the heck?” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed at the screen.  
She’d known the media was biased, but she hadn’t realised exactly how much until now. That was all they showed on the story before moving onto sports.  
“Come on guys, what’s going on?” she frowned to herself, using the remote to change channels in the hopes of picking up another news update.  
When she couldn’t find one she decided to get up and check her computer instead. Surely John had to have replied by now – he had to know what Clara had done.  
She checked a few different places to be sure, but there was still nothing.  
“Dammit John,” she frowned, looking back to the television.  
Forced to concede defeat, she returned to the sofa and to her hot chocolate.  
It was possibly an hour later when she heard a soft knock at the door. With a glance at the clock to check the time, she pulled herself up and went to check the peephole. Barely able to hold herself back she fumbled to quickly open the door.  
“What happened?!” she demanded in a whisper as she pulled John inside by the arm.  
“Careful,” he frowned, stumbling in as she closed the door.  
He didn’t bother taking his backpack off.  
“I take it you saw the news?” he asked.  
“I did,” Charlotte confirmed, “which is why I’m asking. What happened?”  
“I was trying to delay the protest,” John shrugged, “I held her off as long as I could but she decided to do it today without me. Without Walker. She’s lucky she didn’t get arrested.”  
“Why were you delaying it?” Charlotte frowned, confused.  
John chewed on his lip, looking like he didn’t want to answer. He finally slid the backpack off.  
“Just trust me when I say I had good reason,” he insisted.


	33. Rounding Up

“So you didn’t know she was doing it?” Charlotte frowned, trying to understand.  
“She didn’t tell me, no,” John sighed as he took a seat on the couch, “so… sorry I couldn’t warn you.”  
Charlotte shrugged.  
“I wasn’t sure if it were even still going ahead,” she admitted, “you were gone for a while.”  
“Yeah,” John agreed sullenly, “again, sorry.”  
He took a deep breath and sighed again.  
“Am I still okay to stay here a while?” he asked hopefully.  
“Of course,” Charlotte insisted, “nothing’s changed.”  
John nodded, looking thoughtful. Charlotte took up her prior seat and pulled the blanket across her lap.  
“What’s on your mind?” she asked, seeing that he was troubled.  
More so than usual.  
“Nothing I can really talk about,” John offered her a smile as he rubbed his palms together, “but I guess she’s going to have another go at it tomorrow if you’re interested in coming along for the ride.”  
“I can drive us in again,” Charlotte nodded, “are you sure it’s a good idea though?”  
“She’s going to do it with or without my approval,” John shrugged, “might as well be there to support her. The last thing we need is our supporters finding out there’s turmoil in the ranks, so to speak.”  
“I see your point,” Charlotte nodded, “and Walker?”  
“I haven’t spoken to him,” John shrugged, “hopefully he’ll be there.”  
“Do you know if he’s in Chicago?”  
“Yeah he is,” John nodded with a frown, “I did see him the other day, when I was trying to talk Clara down. I just haven’t spoken to him since…”  
He indicated the television.  
“You don’t have his phone number?”  
“He doesn’t like to carry a phone,” John smirked, “I guess you could say he’s a bit old fashioned that way.”  
“I know plenty of people without phones these days,” Charlotte shrugged, “or since the war anyhow…”  
“I think Walker’s problem is knowing how easy they are to track and not really trusting even the prepaids,” John shrugged.  
“Odd,” Charlotte frowned.  
Walker didn’t really come across as the paranoid type… not that she’d met the man yet. She really didn’t know all that much about him either.  
“Will Clara do anything if you turn up uninvited?” Charlotte thought to ask.  
John just shrugged again.  
“Just carry on I guess,” he assumed, stifling a yawn.  
“Guest bed’s made up and ready,” Charlotte mused, watching him.  
“Thanks,” John smirked, “I might just… do that. Thanks. Guess we’ll wake up when the alarms go off.”  
“Yes… they’re pretty effective,” Charlotte chuckled, knowing he meant Eden and Jorryn.  
“Guess we’ll plan then,” John said as he stood, “goodnight Char.”


	34. Congregation

“Excuse me…”  
Charlotte watched John pause as an older woman put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Oh my… John? Is that you?”  
Charlotte grit her teeth. He’d been wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, but he was admittedly still pretty conspicuous to a crowd already assuming he’d be around.  
“It is,” he replied with a smile, putting Charlotte’s fears to rest a little.  
“I must say, we’re very appreciative of the work you do with Clara…”  
“Do you know a deserter?” he asked straight away.  
Charlotte noticed that even though they were on the outskirts of the crowd that had gathered he didn’t even bother trying to keep his voice down. Whether he actually wanted to be sighted or not was confusing her already.  
“A nephew of mine,” the woman nodded, “sadly he passed away while incarcerated.”  
“I’m sorry to hear that-“  
“J!”  
Charlotte watched as John turned to look over his shoulder, before quickly excusing himself from the woman and turning into the older man’s arms. Despite his dark sunglasses Charlotte knew exactly who he was – this was Walker.  
“Hey,” John greeted, “sorry I’m a bit late.”  
“Wasn’t sure if you’d come,” Walker admitted, “I heard that argument.”  
“Well there’s nothing I can do about it now.”  
John looked over his shoulder and suddenly jumped as he realised Charlotte was still there.  
“Um, this is Charlotte,” he quickly introduced, “she’s the one I was telling you about. She got the video.”  
Charlotte felt her face flush red. Even though she had both Eden and Jorryn in the tandem stroller she hadn’t been sure that Walker had known she was in the program.  
“Nice to meet you,” Walker offered his hand.  
“Nice to meet you,” she offered a smile.  
He seemed a lot older in person.   
“And thank you for your contribution to the cause,” he gave her a nod, “we have many supporters who’ve been in the program, but I don’t believe any have helped quite as much as you have.”  
“Thank you,” Charlotte’s eyes fell, “I mean, you’re welcome, I guess.”  
John smirked before taking her shoulder.  
“Where’s… Clara?” he asked.  
“She’s up there,” Walker nodded, indicating the City Hall steps, “seems like she’s just about to get started.”  
“What happened yesterday?” John stepped back, trying to catch sight of her.  
“An early breakup,” Walker shrugged, “but the idea was to gain interest, and she certainly did that.”  
“She did,” John looked around at the crowd appreciatively.  
It was at least three hundred strong.  
Charlotte had barely looked up after tending to Jorryn before sighting Clara with her megaphone in hand.  
“People of Chicago!” she began, “today is the day! You will be silenced no longer!”  
“Here we go,” John grunted, folding his arms.


	35. Speech

“Those of you who were here yesterday have already seen how easily the media corrupts,” Clara’s speech was well on its way.  
“Yes they mentioned evidence, but did they even hint as to what it was? No! Now is your time to demand justice! Those of you who were here yesterday know exactly what I’m talking about. This was not a once off. I am also in possession of audio that has that same man claiming to have been raped over _two hundred times_ , almost a quarter of those having been staff as you can plainly see in the video is no word of a lie.”  
“She’s really pumped up today,” Charlotte muttered, giving both John and Walker a glance.  
Neither of them reacted.  
“Currently your Chicago detention centre holds eight ‘deserters’. That number at one point was fifteen. All around the country we see the same stories day in and day out. For anyone that’s been living in a cave for the last five years, there’s a reason they’re called deserters – and it isn’t what the media wants you to think. They want you to believe that these men betrayed their country, betrayed their people. I ask you this people of Chicago… how betrayed did _you_ feel when your men went off to war and never came back? Think of the relief those of you felt when the few of your men actually came home. Your sons, your brothers, your fathers. Do you remember that? It wasn’t so long ago.”  
There were murmurs in the crowd, and nervous shuffling.  
“Now imagine losing them again just as soon,” Clara was looking people directly in the eye as she spoke, “only their fates arguably becoming worse than a patriotic war death.”  
“At least they’re still alive!” someone called out.  
“Tell that the families of those who took their own lives,” Clara hit straight back, “in case you weren’t listening there were seven in this county alone.”  
“How does she know that? Jordan didn’t tell me that,” Charlotte frowned.  
“I have a cousin that’s good with computers,” John offered, leaning into her a little, “she probably asked him to hack the stats.”  
“A cousin?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose, wondering again how the argument with his mother tied into all of it.  
John gave Walker a glance, but he didn’t move.  
“Yeah,” he started tapping one of his heels anxiously.  
“I call your attention to the screen to my left,” Clara indicated with her arm, “and especially to those who are new here today, pay close attention. This is what’s going on in your detention centres. This is your justice for discretions such as late parking fines and shoplifting.”  
Someone set the tape rolling. When Charlotte saw Jordan and the guard come on the screen, she had to turn away.  
When she looked to the side she saw that Walker also had his head down.  
“Cops are here,” John informed them suddenly.  
“Already?” Charlotte looked up in surprise.  
“Go and blend into the crowd,” Walker insisted, “but be ready.”  
John took off his sunglasses and nodded, before indicating for Charlotte to follow him. She gave Walker one last glance before following John through the maze of people, coming to rest near the other side.  
The flashing blue and red lights already seemed to surround them, but Clara didn’t look worried.


	36. Rally

To everyone’s surprise, the officers who made their way up to Clara simply took the podium.  
Charlotte’s video of Jordan was still playing, and despite the officers’ requests to stop or pause, neither option happened.  
“We would like to inform the public that these accusations against the security staff at the Central Chicago Detention Centre are being taken very seriously, and the staff member in question has been identified and will be subsequently interviewed.”  
“But not detained,” Charlotte heard John mutter under his breath.  
“Will she continue working at the facility while this is going on?” they were close enough to hear Clara demand.  
“She will be suspended pending an investigation, if she truly is the culprit,” the officer returned – loud enough for the crowd to hear.  
“If?!” a few people chorused.  
Charlotte could have sworn she almost saw a smirk on Clara’s face. The people were responding well.  
“That is the best I can offer for now,” the officer insisted, “and until such an investigation is complete this matter is now closed. You all need to go home.”  
“Actually they don’t,” Clara assured as she took up her megaphone again, “we’re standing on public property. If anyone needs to move on, it would be you. Don’t you have a pending investigation waiting for you?”  
“Damn,” Charlotte breathed.  
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” John smirked in her direction.  
Charlotte gave him an odd look when it was very similar to Clara’s earlier one, but was soon distracted by the call again.  
“What you are seeing here today is nothing new. This is happening to deserters in detention centres all across America who are unable to speak up or defend themselves. We are now their voice! This is the first time that undeniable proof has been retrieved, and believe me when I say we will not stop here.”  
Charlotte’s eyes darted to John as he began to move again.   
“I invite – nay, encourage – you to record this for yourselves. Spread it around. Don’t just tell, but _show_ your friends and family what is going on. But don’t remain silent. These are your sons, and by remaining in the shadows you are letting this happen to them. For more information on how you can personally help the cause please go to our website...”  
Charlotte bit her lip, not sure if she should follow him or not. When she saw that he was closing in on the police officers she decided against it. A quick look to their left told her that Walker hadn’t moved, but a small crowd of older women had gathered nearby.  
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking a personal interest in this, it is a cause very close to home and I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of you standing here…”  
“Are you serious?!”  
Charlotte jumped at the sound of John’s voice before hearing a commotion. Clara stopped to watch as John was once again chased from the area by two police officers, one of them calling for backup.  
“Just FYI, yes that was my colleague John,” Clara quickly raised her megaphone, “as of today he is still seventeen years of age and cannot legally be detained for more than twenty-four hours.”  
For the first time Charlotte began to catch on as to why they had to add that titbit to every speech…


	37. Lift

Charlotte hadn’t been sure what to do once the officers had taken off after John. Clara had carried on as normal, and Walker hadn’t seemed in the least bit phased.  
When the demonstration was over both ring leaders disappeared into the swarm. Charlotte had thought they may have in an effort to evade the police, but she wasn’t sure how to find out if John was okay or if anyone needed her help.  
With both Jorryn and Eden to consider, she decided to just head home.   
She’d barely gotten both kids in the car before her cell phone rang.   
“Hello?”  
“Charlotte? It’s Clara.”  
Charlotte immediately frowned. None of them had ever called her before.  
“Have you left the park yet?”  
“I was just about to…” Charlotte chewed her lip apprehensively.  
“Would you be able to give me a ride to the station? I just got a call from John and they’re going to hold him until I get there.”  
“Isn’t that blackmail?” Charlotte was worried it could be a ploy to get to Clara instead.  
“It’s okay,” Clara seemed to catch onto her fear, “they have no grounds to hold either of us at this stage. I just need to go and do some paperwork.”  
“Alright,” Charlotte wasn’t about to say no to Clara, “I’m parked on the west side. I’ll wait for you.”  
“No need,” Clara assured.  
Charlotte hesitated before taking a quick look around. Clara was on her way over from a few car lengths away. Charlotte hurriedly ended the call and finished settling Jorryn before Clara made it to the car.  
“Thanks for this,” she offered a warm smile, “I just know how much he hates being picked up, and it would take a while for me to walk there.”  
“He doesn’t seem all that worried when I talk to him about it,” Charlotte looked confused as she got in to drive.  
“He’s had to build a bit of a façade over the last few years,” Clara admitted as she also stepped in, “I don’t know if he’s spoken to you about it but he has the deadline looming over him…”  
“He said a couple of weeks,” Charlotte nodded as she started the car.  
“His birthday is Halloween,” Clara nodded, “and once he turns eighteen he’s practically fair game.”  
“Do you think he’ll hide?” Charlotte glanced across, “become a deserter?”  
Clara gave her the same smile again.  
“Honey he’s already a deserter in everyone’s eyes,” she pointed out, “but he’s certainly not going to give up without a very boisterous – and public – fight. America will have their eyes on him, so he doesn’t have too much to worry about in that respect.”


	38. Secrets

Charlotte could see John through the glass windows of the police station. With his head resting on the table he looked bored more than anything else.  
Having both Eden and Jorryn with her she didn’t intend to go any further than the lobby but she could clearly hear some stern words being thrown between Clara and one of the supervising officers.  
Awkwardly bouncing Jorryn while trying to keep Eden on the seat next to her, she did her best to ignore the riffraff making its way through in the meantime.   
“I don’t care what you think you need to do. We’ve already been through this the other day. I have a right to see him, and without formal charges you can’t hold him,” Clara’s voice obviously wanted to rise further than it had, “furthermore you cannot even talk to him without the proper legal representative present, or were you not told of the review on the legal process since the war ended? He’s only seventeen!”  
Charlotte grit her teeth as the argument heated. This was not somewhere she wanted her kids to be.  
Thankfully it was soon all but over, and she saw Clara head through into the room John was in. As soon as he saw her he got to his feet, but they didn’t appear to say anything to each other before she led him out.  
“Let’s go,” she nodded to Charlotte, smiling but evidently aggravated.  
John ducked over to lift Eden into his arms and help her carry them out to the car. Not another word was said until everyone was buckled in.  
“Where are we going?” Charlotte was almost afraid to ask.  
“You can drop me back at the park, thank you,” Clara nodded.  
Charlotte had barely started the car and begun down the road when she felt the tension in the car raise.  
“Did you get Everett to hack the CDT?” John asked from his seat in the back.  
Charlotte grimaced a little, hoping an argument wouldn’t break out.  
“What if I did?” Clara turned her head a little.  
“You don’t think that was dangerous?” John’s brow furrowed, “what if they traced it? I mean, what if they found them?”  
“They’re not going to find them,” Clara insisted.  
“How do you know?” John countered, “they are getting closer and closer to finding the retreat, and now that the FBI’s involved…”  
“The FBI?” Charlotte blanched.  
“Don’t worry,” Clara insisted – to Charlotte.  
“The FBI aren’t going to have any more luck than the military division,” she went on to insist, “they’re nothing more than officers in suits. We need to just keep doing what we’re doing and we’ll be fine.”  
An awkward silence followed. Even the kids were quiet.  
“Did you call them?” John broke it.  
“They’re all fine,” Clara assured, “they’ve got school to focus on.”  
Charlotte saw John nod from the mirror, not saying another word until they reached the park.


	39. Apprehension

After Charlotte had put both Eden and Jorryn to bed for the night, she returned to the living room to find John halfway through the paper but his focus on the television. She’d walked in just in time to catch the end of the story on Clara’s demonstration that day.  
What followed was a story on the guard who’d raped Jordan.  
“ _Detention Centre guard Claire Holden has been formally charged with one count of aggravated assault and rape, and will appear in the justice courts tomorrow morning. Until such time as her sentence is heavied she will return to work after a one-week suspension…_ ”  
“What?” Charlotte’s eyes widened.  
John had barely opened his mouth before his cell phone rang.   
“Sorry,” he quickly apologised, glancing toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms as he hurriedly answered it.  
“Yeah? Yeah we’re watching now. I thought you…? Well wait a minute, what if we just- What? Are you sure you want to?”  
It was obvious that he was talking to Clara – Charlotte could hear her voice from the other side of the room.  
“Okay,” John relented surprisingly fast, “what time will you be there?”  
Charlotte kept her eyes on the screen until the story finished. The stories of the demonstration and of the charges against the guard were hardly even linked.  
“Okay. I’ll be there,” John promised before saying goodbye.  
“What’s happening?” Charlotte looked worried.  
John sighed before setting his phone on the table.  
“Clara’s going to start a campaign to get Jordan released,” he admitted without looking up, “I mean she already had, but it’s going to be the focus of tomorrow’s protest. We only have a week before Holden is sent back there, and whether or not he’s being attacked by other guards in the meantime we can’t really help, but we might be able to lobby some support in light of this. And the amount of people who’ve witnessed it already.”  
“Expecting the same crowd tomorrow?”  
“Expecting more,” John shrugged, folding his arms, “the crowds tend to double as people tell their friends and family what’s going on. There’s always those who are there just for the hype and to catch sight of celebrities or whatever, but sometimes the amount of support we get borders on insane.”  
“It helps when you have right on your side,” Charlotte pointed out.  
“Yeah,” John nodded, “especially when you bring familial morals into the argument.”  
He paused, then took his phone and stood.  
“I’d better get to bed. Got an early start,” he sighed, “it should be an interesting day ahead.”  
“Goodnight John,” Charlotte nodded as he left the room.  
“Thanks for today,” he offered a short smile in return.


	40. Speaker

“…This is a man who has seen harder times than any one of us can comprehend, even those of us who were large stakeholders in the war.”  
Charlotte watched on worriedly as Clara’s speech centred on Jordan. For the first time in Chicago, John was standing by her side.  
“For the first time,” he raised his megaphone, “we’ve caught a glimpse inside these detention centres. And guess what we found? We found evidence of physical torture and rape. We found such a lack of mental stimulation that will be beyond comprehension for the vast majority of you. And we found guards – who are trusted as the caretakers of these men – more than willing to take advantage of the confinement these men have undertaken. Jordan is but one example-“  
Charlotte frowned a little when John’s voice broke for a second, but he covered it professionally.  
“-But we are here to help him become the face of this hypocrisy and to force it to end.”  
“Make no mistake, this is the start of something big,” Clara carried on, “and it will not be quick, and it will not be easy. But we are demanding justice for Jordan, and ultimately – due to his specific treatment - we demand his release.”  
“What about the others?” someone from the crowd called out.  
“We are hoping to set an example,” Clara clarified, “once Jordan is free we will have access to further inside information. He may be able to provide proof that this has happened to other deserters, and it will strengthen the overall campaign to see them _all_ free again.”  
“It’s very rare for a deserter to actually deserve their current treatment, and of course it’s down to personal opinion in regards to their individual crimes,” John carried on, “so yes, we are campaigning for every deserter’s release. But right now we are focusing on one. And once that first one steps outside a free man, we will have the strength behind us to go after number two and three and so on until some sort of bill is passed to prevent this from happening again.”  
They were both on fire, Charlotte could see. Throughout all the online videos and testimonials from their prior protests, she’d never seen anything like this. Yet they both seemed to remain completely level-headed in the meantime and neither budged when the police officers returned to the podium. Charlotte was somewhat surprised they were making it look like they were working with the police when technically they were the enemy in this.  
Not all of them, maybe, but a great deal of them.  
“The Chicago police force would like to assure the public that we are handling this case very carefully,” their spokesman announced, “Officer Holden will be held accountable for her indiscretions…”  
Clara scoffed at that.  
“…And depending on a court ruling will only return to work when the law allows.”  
“She shouldn’t be returning at all!” John scorned, loudly, “everyone here saw what she’s been doing! A person like that should not be in a position where she’s tempted to reoffend!”  
“We have also upgraded security at the detention centre,” the officer went on as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “so the public can rest assured that this will not be happening again.”


	41. The Ask

“Public can rest assured my ass,” John scoffed as he paced.  
“John,” Charlotte scorned as she held Eden.  
“Sorry,” he quickly apologised, realising his mistake.  
The news broadcast covering the protest that day played out on the television in front of them. As usual it was biased toward the police, but they were starting to show members of the crowd who’d started bringing along homemade signs and other shows of support.  
“I wonder what they mean by tighter security?” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed as she thought, “they’re already pretty strict.”  
“More cameras probably,” John shrugged, biting his nails apprehensively, “which means SFA depending on who’s even monitoring them.”  
“SFA?” Charlotte looked confused.  
John paused, not taking his eyes from the screen.  
“Never mind,” he assured.  
Charlotte was about to protest when his phone rang yet again, as if on cue. Charlotte knew it was Clara before John even answered it.  
“Yeah?” he grunted, still biting his nails, “sorry. Did you see it?”  
Charlotte watched curiously as John stood silently for a long time. She could hear Clara’s voice coming down the line, and she didn’t sound happy. John looked neither angry nor worried at what he was hearing which confused her even more.  
“Are you sure?” was the first thing he said after a good five or so minutes of small grunts, “you know this could ruin everything.”  
Charlotte frowned at that, watching as he again took to his nails. She could tell he was getting nervous.  
“I understand,” was his next comment, spoken softly.  
Clara said something else before John simply hung up.  
“Dare I ask?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose.  
John was staring at the television again, looking as if he’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. He shot her a glance before taking a seat on the nearby couch.  
“We’re going to have to ask you a favour,” he began in a cautious tone before he looked up and met her eye line again, “a rather big one.”


	42. Favour

“You want me to what?”  
“She wants him out of there before Holden goes back to work, and we only have five more days,” John pressed.  
“But… how…?”  
“She’s still working out the details,” John insisted, “but we’ll talk you through it. We’ll make sure you know exactly what you’re doing when you go in.”  
“I don’t know,” Charlotte shook her head, “I don’t think I can do this. Can’t you find someone else?”  
“We don’t have anyone else in the Chicago program,” John leant forward, “I’m sorry, but you’re it.”  
Flabbergasted, Charlotte was lost for words for a moment.  
“It’s too soon,” she looked him in the eye, “it’s too soon for them to tell I’m not pregnant from the last time. They’ll get suspicious if I insist.”  
“It’s not too soon,” John leant forward but held back from actually touching her, “and we can work some magic to make sure you get in. No one will be any the wiser, I promise.”  
“Unless they figured out it was me who made the video,” Charlotte frowned, bouncing Eden a little on her knee.  
“They haven’t,” John assured, “and they won’t. We’ll make sure. The only people who can tell for certain are Jordan and Holden, and she hasn’t seen the video. Even if she eventually does she probably wouldn’t remember your name.”  
Charlotte bit her lip, really not wanting to turn him down but not wanting to do it either. Maybe if she didn’t have the kids to consider…  
“Will you at least talk to Clara about it?” John’s eyebrows rose almost desperately.  
Charlotte stopped herself from rolling her eyes. If she spoke to Clara she knew she might as well sign up right away. The woman could just about talk her into anything.  
“Maybe,” Charlotte relented, “can I just have some time to think on it?”  
“Sleep on it?” John suggested.  
“I might need longer than that,” Charlotte scoffed, “John this isn’t a small thing you’re asking, and I have Eden and Jorryn to think about. If it weren’t for them-“  
“We don’t have longer than that,” John frowned, “we need to get the ball rolling, or for all we know as soon as Holden goes back to work there’s going to be an accident.”  
Charlotte’s eyes shot to him.  
“An accident?” she asked gingerly.  
“Jordan’s the one person who knows everything,” John explained, “do you really think she’s going to let him walk out of there if she can help it?”  
“Wait…” Charlotte shifted slightly, for a moment forgetting she was even holding Eden, “are you saying she might _kill_ him?!”  
“We don’t have any evidence to support it,” John shook his head, “but we’re almost a hundred per cent certain it’s happened in the past. Not in Chicago, but it has happened.”  
Charlotte fell silent at that, her face flushing red as her eyes hit the floor.  
“I don’t want to beg you,” John’s brow furrowed, “but you could be his one and only chance.”  
“How soon can I talk to Clara?” Charlotte looked up again.


	43. Tail

“Where are you?” John frowned as he spoke on the phone to Clara.  
They were sitting on the usual park bench. Clara was ten minutes late.  
“Are you sure?” his frown only deepened.  
Charlotte looked across, his tone worrying her a little.  
“Okay. Then you’d better get off the phone,” John insisted, “what do you want me to do?”  
Charlotte pursed her lips as she waited, curling her fingertips through Eden’s waft of blonde hair as she waited.  
“Will do,” John promised before hanging up.  
“Something wrong?” Charlotte guessed.  
“You could say that,” John sighed as he sifted through his few contacts, “she has an FBI tail.”  
Charlotte paused, not sure what to say to that.  
“Is she okay?” she asked.  
“She’s fine,” John assured, “but she can’t meet us until she loses them.”  
“Who are you calling?” Charlotte asked when he returned the phone to his ear.  
“My cousin,” John didn’t even glance her way as he concentrated.  
There was a pause as he waited for his cousin to answer. He took a lot longer than Clara.  
“Hey, Everett?” he finally got through, “did you hear?”  
Charlotte couldn’t quite hear the response, but John was starting to bite his nails again.  
“Yeah I know. But she needs you to hack the CDT again.”  
Charlotte heard his cousin’s voice raise, but it wasn’t in anger.  
“We need you to reschedule some old appointments and make a new one for Char,” John took a quick look over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, “can you get her in by Friday or Saturday?”  
He waited for confirmation before giving Charlotte a nod.  
“Thanks. And move her last appointment back so they don’t get suspicious,” John added, “have you noticed if they’ve added any visual feeds?”  
Charlotte’s face flushed red. She wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing yet, but she knew she didn’t like the idea of cameras in those rooms.  
“Can you get in?” he soon smirked at the reply, “okay cool. Let me know when you’re done and I’ll tell her. Thanks Everett.”  
“What exactly is he doing? Or going to do?” Charlotte frowned once John had hung up.  
“He’s going to make you an appointment at the detention centre,” John explained, “it’ll show on their computers so it’ll be business as usual when you just show up. It’ll look like a referral from your doctor. He’ll also move your last appointment back a month or so, so it’ll be obvious that you’re not pregnant from your last encounter.”  
“Okay…” Charlotte frowned, “and what about the cameras?”  
“He’s got it covered,” John gave her a small smile, “he’ll record the first few minutes of you in the room with Jordan and put it on a loop.”  
“And what if they don’t pair me with Jordan again?” Charlotte was looking worried again already.  
“He’ll take care of that,” John assured, “it’s amazing how much people rely on computers these days. Especially considering how easy they are to corrupt.”


	44. Maps

“Sorry it took so long,” Clara immediately apologised as she took a seat.  
“That’s okay,” Charlotte responded nervously, “you couldn’t really help it.”  
“Where’s… the little one?” Clara looked curious as she set her handbag down, giving John a glance as he stood behind them.  
“Jorryn,” Charlotte offered, “he’s with my Mom. She takes him Tuesday afternoons.”  
“Right,” Clara nodded, watching Eden for a moment, “if you don’t mind my asking…”  
“Anything,” Charlotte shrugged, hoping to get down to business.  
“Where did you get the name Jorryn?” she asked.  
Charlotte paused, slightly taken aback. She hadn’t known Clara to indulge in personal curiosities since she’d first met Eden and commented on her hair.  
“Well…” she began awkwardly, “when I found out their father’s name I guess I wanted to honour it in some way. Without taking his name as a whole.”  
She frowned slightly.  
“It was the closest thing that I actually liked. Why do you ask?”  
“I thought it may have been something like that,” Clara offered a smile, not taking her eyes from Eden, “I was just curious. I used to spend a lot of time on baby names. Call it a hobby.”  
“Okay,” the confused look didn’t leave her face.  
John suddenly cleared his throat.  
“Anyway,” Clara opened her bag and pulled out a tablet, “I suppose you’d like to know what we’ll be having you do on Saturday.”  
“Saturday?” John looked up.  
“Yes, Everett booked it this afternoon,” Clara didn’t bother looking up as she turned on the tablet and began sifting through photos, “your appointment will be the last one of the day, at 5pm.”  
“So it’ll be dark by the time they come out?” John realised.  
“Hopefully,” Clara found what she was looking for before passing Charlotte the tablet.  
She took it apprehensively.  
“This is a very vague outline of the room you’ll meet him in,” Clara explained, “using the diagrams, could you adjust it please?”  
“Okay,” Charlotte chewed on her lip as she got to work.  
She took her time to make sure it was right, adding the window and doors and adjusting the position of the bed. As she worked she heard John taking a nervous deep breath behind her.  
“Are you okay?” Clara looked over her shoulder to where he was occupying Eden.  
“I’m fine,” he assured, looking surprised to be asked.  
“There,” Charlotte handed it back before pointing to the window, “that’s where the guard was watching us from last time. Before she raped him. It’s where I caught the video.”  
Clara looked it over before saving it to the drive.   
“Do you have the map?” John asked.  
“Everett sent it over this morning,” Clara nodded before reaching into her handbag again.  
She pulled out a small key and held it up for Charlotte.  
“This is the only one of these in our possession,” she stated seriously, “do not lose it.”  
“What is it?” Charlotte asked, gingerly reaching out to take it.  
“This is our universal key,” Clara explained as she relinquished it, “it won’t matter what kind of cuffs he’s wearing, this key will unlock them all.”


	45. Honour

“They’re going to know it’s not a coincidence.”  
John looked up as he emerged from the hallway after settling Eden down for the night.  
“Sorry?” he frowned, closing the door.  
Charlotte looked up from where she sat hugging herself on the couch.  
“You, Clara and Walker… being in Chicago,” she elaborated, “and one of their prized deserters suddenly goes missing.”  
John cast his eyes toward the television. The news had just ended.  
Charlotte took hold of the remote and turned it off so that he couldn’t use it as a distraction. With a disgruntled look he made his way over to her and sat down.  
“What makes you say he’s ‘prized’?” he chose to go with.  
“As far as I’m aware, if anyone has a problem conceiving they go to him,” Charlotte shrugged, “that’s what they did for me.”  
John nodded absently, glancing back over his shoulder though he couldn’t physically see the kids.  
“Maybe the passage of time is getting to us,” he suggested, “we’ve been on this campaign trail for years, and no one’s ever been released.”  
“So you’re giving up?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose.  
“We’re giving up on the system, not on humanity,” John clarified.  
“But what is this going to mean?” Charlotte frowned, “the police, the wardens… they’re going to know you’re behind it.”  
“They won’t have any proof,” John shrugged.  
“But it’s all they’re going to need to get to you,” Charlotte looked worried.  
John sighed, starting to catch on. He shifted in his seat and reached over to take one of her hands.  
“Stop worrying about me,” he insisted, “I’m not your concern.”  
“I can’t help it,” Charlotte frowned, “and you can’t expect me to ignore it when you _know_ what I’ve seen.”  
“I don’t expect anything from you,” John assured, “if my being here is causing you problems-“  
“What’s that got to do with it?” Charlotte was confused.  
“Well…” John considered, “maybe if I was out of sight I’d be out of mind, is all.”  
“Like Jordan?” Charlotte pointed out.  
John paused, chewing his lip.  
“Point taken,” he looked away, “I didn’t realise you were so attached already. I’m sorry.”  
“I’m not,” Charlotte gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  
John looked down at where their hands met, his face flushing red a little.  
“Char…” he began carefully, “there’s a lot that you don’t know about me.”  
“I know that you’re one of kindest people I’ve ever met,” Charlotte insisted, “who’s great with kids, and who stands up for what he believes in at whatever cost.”  
“I’ve been promised to someone,” John’s eyes met hers.  
Charlotte hesitated, before quickly diverting her eyes.  
“I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t-“  
“My fault,” Charlotte insisted straight away.  
“I have a girlfriend back home,” John explained, “it’s part of the reason I have to do this. So that we might actually have a chance at having a normal life together.”  
“I get it,” Charlotte just nodded, blushing from embarrassment, “it’s very honourable of you.”


	46. Black & White

“How long since you’ve seen her?”  
“Who?” John looked up from where he was making coffee the following morning.  
“Your girlfriend,” Charlotte diverted her eyes, “if you don’t mind my asking.”  
John hesitated, frowning as he thought.  
“I don’t mind,” he assured, “but it’s been… God…”  
He looked to the ceiling as he leant on the bench, a calculating look on his face.  
“Just over eighteen months I think.”  
“Wow,” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose, “how do you know you’re still…?”  
“We talk online,” John shrugged, “it’s hard, but… what can you do?”  
“What’s her plan for the end of the month?”  
John hesitated before an awkward smile grew on his face.   
“You mean if I get detained?” he clarified.  
Charlotte shrugged.  
John finished what he was doing and brought both their coffees over to the couch, passing Charlotte hers before taking a seat again.  
“Then we’ll work on it,” he shook his head, “we can’t exactly make plans when we don’t know what’s going to happen. But I know Clara would sooner do much worse than spring Jordan if she could stop me from going in.”  
“She’s very protective of you,” Charlotte thought out loud.  
“Yeah,” John agreed, holding his mug with both hands.  
“She must be worried too.”  
“It’s not something we talk about,” John admitted, “but now that…”  
He trailed off, as if not sure how to say what he wanted to.  
“Things have changed?” Charlotte offered for him.  
“Yeah,” he gave her a glance, “or they’re changing. Things will be different when he’s out.”  
“You’re putting a lot of faith in him,” Charlotte frowned a little, “what if he doesn’t turn out to be the saint you’ve all assumed him to be?”  
John smirked at that.  
“Seriously,” Charlotte insisted, “you’re putting the future of the campaign in the hands of a deserter! What if all he wants to do is run?”  
“What if all I want to do is run?” John locked eyes with her suddenly.  
Charlotte paused, the statement taking her by surprise.  
“You would?” she asked.  
John looked away before starting to sip at his coffee.  
“Nothing in life is black and white,” he relented eventually, “we can only take on what each day throws at us. We just won’t know what that is until we’re there. And there’s no point in doing nothing in the meantime.”  
“I didn’t mean for you to do nothing,” Charlotte assured.  
“Well, good,” John’s eyebrows rose, “because believe me, Saturday’s going to come very fast.”


	47. Nerves

“I’m not sure I can do this,” Charlotte was wringing her hands nervously.  
John looked across at her from the driver’s seat. He’d barely pulled into the park spot at the detention centre.  
“Yes, you can,” he insisted, “you know they’ll get suspicious if you don’t turn up, right?”  
Charlotte turned to look out the window, trying to calm herself down. They were acting as if this would be the easiest thing in the world. But she was about to break the law. And not only break it, but smash it into smithereens.  
“What if he doesn’t recognise me?” she asked.  
“The amount of women he goes through, chances are he won’t,” John shrugged.  
“Then he isn’t going to believe me.”  
“I think when you unlock his chains he will,” John smirked.  
“About that…” Charlotte gave him a worried look.  
“What?” John caught her eye.  
“How do I know that…” Charlotte paused, trying to think of how to word it so it wasn’t too judgemental, “you know, that he’s not dangerous? Do we even know what he was arrested for? What if he attacks me?”  
John sighed, facing front and sitting back into the seat.  
“You don’t think that even the most dangerous of criminals can control their urges if it means freedom?” he frowned.  
“That’s not helping,” Charlotte scorned.  
“He’s not dangerous,” John insisted.  
“How do you know?!” Charlotte demanded.  
“He’s not,” John locked eyes with her again, “you’re just going to have to trust me on that.”  
Charlotte paused, slightly taken back at the look he was giving her.  
“But he’ll be confused,” John relented, “keep in mind what he’s been through. No normal person would come through that unscathed.”  
“You’re saying he could be mental?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose further.  
“No,” John screwed his face up, “just… be gentle, okay? He will not hurt you, he wants this more than anything. He’ll recognise that you’re saving him and I know he’ll be grateful.”  
“You think?” Charlotte was finally starting to calm.  
“I _know_ ,” John insisted before glancing at the clock.  
“It’s almost five,” Charlotte realised.  
“You’d better get in there,” John insisted, “I’ll be waiting for you at the side door. If anything goes wrong…”  
“I’ll bolt,” Charlotte promised, suddenly wishing she hadn’t had to use her real name for the appointment.  
“Got everything?” John checked as she opened the door and grabbed her bag.  
“Triple checked before I left,” she promised, closing it again behind her.  
“Good luck!” John hung out the window to call after her.


	48. Security

“Miss Hunter?” the doctor called.  
Charlotte clutched her handbag as she rose to her feet. The waiting room – aside from a woman waiting for her daughter – was deserted. She gave the doctor a nervous smile before silently following her down the corridor.  
“I’m sorry your last liaison didn’t work out,” she was checking her notes, “but you’ve had some trouble in the past, haven’t you?”  
“Yes,” Charlotte somehow managed to not stutter her response.  
“I’m sure pairing you with the father or your previous two children will set you back on track,” the doctor smiled as she opened the door to the viewing room.  
Charlotte frowned for a second but quickly wiped it from her face. Everett must have altered more than just her schedule, she realised.  
When she stepped through and caught her first glimpse of Jordan again, she had to force herself not to freeze up.  
He was taller than she remembered.  
And it looked like he had a black eye.  
“Is he… okay?” she frowned, not taking her eyes off him as the guards in the room began unlocking his shackles.  
“Fine,” the doctor looked up to see what she was talking about, “oh that? He had a small accident a few days ago. He walked into his cell door. He’s fine, nothing to worry about.”  
Charlotte couldn’t help but gulp. That sounded too much like a cover story for something sinister.  
“I’m aware you’ve been here multiple times Miss Hunter,” the doctor began as they both watched him, “but as you may have seen on the news we’ve had to start taking some extra precautions…”  
“I’ve seen a bit of it,” Charlotte shrugged, praying it sounded genuine.  
“One of the guards will need to search your bag before you enter the room,” the doctor went on, not noticing Charlotte suddenly pale, “and there are new cameras installed. The footage will only be reviewed if there is an issue, and if you believe there is one it will need to be reported within a month’s time for us to carry out an investigation.”  
“What kind of problem?” Charlotte was curious.  
“Anything,” the doctor shrugged, “if you feel the inmate has acted inappropriately.”  
Charlotte stopped herself from correcting ‘inmate’ to ‘Jordan’ but it was hard. She lowered her eyes as he undressed and the guards locked him to the bed.  
“Are you ready?”  
“Sure,” she looked up again, her mind already tormenting her with the guards emptying her bag and leaving her with nothing.  
She gave Jordan one last glance before stepping out of the small room, surprised to find one of his guards already waiting at the open door.  
“This is Miss Hunter,” the doctor introduced from behind her.  
“Miss Hunter,” the guard nodded before holding out her hand, “your bag please?”  
Charlotte handed it over. She couldn’t help but stare as the guard swiftly went through it.  
“There’s a lot of clothes in here,” she frowned, looking up to the doctor.  
“Sometimes it gets messy,” Charlotte interjected, a little quicker than intended, “I learnt the hard way last time to bring spares.”


	49. No Turning Back

Charlotte took a big sigh of relief when the doors closed behind the guards. They hadn’t had to confiscate anything, though they were confused at some of the contents of her bag.   
She was once again alone with Jordan. He was once again staring at the ceiling patiently.  
Knowing that Everett – whoever he was – would be watching and waiting, she set her bag down and made her way to the side of the bed. She barely looked at him before sitting to the side.  
“Jordan, I need you to listen closely,” she began softly.  
She felt him flinch, but didn’t turn back.  
“I’m going to help you,” she whispered.  
“How do you know my name?” she heard his frown.  
Charlotte took a deep breath, knowing she had to give Everett something to work with. She shifted herself on the bed so that she could turn and face him.  
“It’s you,” his brow furrowed with recognition.  
“You remember me?” Charlotte was surprised.  
“Yeah…” Jordan tried to push himself up, but the chains seemed tighter than usual.  
Charlotte felt herself staring at his bruise. It sat in a straight line above and below his right eye, and certainly looked like it could have been made by a door frame.  
“You’re the one who said no.”  
Charlotte blanched as his voice broke her trance.   
“I am,” she agreed, suddenly taken by his eyes again.  
She could barely believe how much Eden looked like him. And now that she was focusing, he actually looked a little like an older version of John…  
“What are you doing?”   
She jumped again. At the sudden reminder, she checked her watch.   
“I think that’s long enough,” she breathed before getting to her feet.  
Jordan watched curiously as she made her way back to her handbag. When she opened it she pulled out a piece of black cloth and made her way over to the mirror.  
“What are you-?”  
Jordan stopped when he saw for himself. Charlotte draped the cloth across the window, pinning it to the sides so that anyone on the other side wouldn’t be able to see through.  
“They’re not going to like that,” Jordan warned from behind her.  
“I don’t care,” Charlotte insisted.  
Suddenly picking up the pace, she darted back to her handbag and pulled it back over to the mattress.  
“I have some clothes for you,” she began pulling them out and dropping them beside him.  
“Okay…” Jordan was evidently confused, “…why?”  
Charlotte panicked for a moment before emptying all the contents onto the mattress. The key came out last.  
“Oh thank God,” she grabbed it before stepping over to the head.  
She paused, the key in her hand. Jordan’s eyes locked on hers as he realised what she was doing.  
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.  
The sincerity in his voice shocked her. She knew it was what he wanted, probably more than anything else in the world, but he almost seemed more worried about her involvement.  
“I’m sure,” she insisted, immediately reaching for the cuff on his right wrist.


	50. Hurry

Charlotte backed off a little as Jordan sat up on the bed, having to pull herself together again in order to unlock his ankles.  
“Can I ask why you’re doing this?” he looked nothing but confused.  
“Just keep your voice down,” Charlotte insisted, panicking too much inside her head to really answer any questions at this point.  
Jordan was massaging his wrists as he waited for her to finish. As soon as she did she carefully handed him the jeans Clara had given him before hurriedly packing her bag up again.  
“They’re even my size,” he said in surprise as he stood from the bed, “…I think.”  
“Just hurry,” Charlotte pleaded, “we need to go.”  
She went back to the door as Jordan pulled on the jeans and black shirt, following her as he began to button it up.  
“Where are we going?” he asked, nerves showing in his voice almost as much as hers.  
“Out,” Charlotte replied, indicating for him to stand back as she opened the door.  
The guard was gone and she could hear laughter down toward the waiting room. One of the voices belonged to the doctor.  
“This way,” Charlotte pointed left, “turn right and there’s a door on the wall.”  
Jordan took a quick look around before stepping out past her and trying to be quiet as he slipped down the hall. Charlotte made sure to close the door behind her – stopping to listen for a moment to see if anyone had gone into the viewing room – before following him.  
By the time she got to the end of the corridor he was already at the door.  
“It’s alarmed,” he looked up at her worriedly.  
“I know,” Charlotte assured, pushing past him to look at the keypad.   
She could clearly see the red light indicating that the door was locked. By the time she looked up to find the security camera focused on it something else caught her eye.  
“Oh my-“  
Jordan’s head darted up to the end of the corridor where the receptionist was evidently leaving for the night. She was a large woman, and Charlotte knew she couldn’t take her on.  
“GUARDS!” the woman yelled before setting her things aside.  
“Oh no,” Charlotte realised they were trapped.  
She looked up at the camera desperately, wishing she’d thought to at least pack some mace.  
“Leave her out of this,” Jordan suddenly stepped forward, “it’s me that you want.”  
“I’m sorry, but she’s helping you escape,” the woman insisted as the guard who was supposed to be watching the room came running.  
Charlotte’s eyes darted between them as the guard instantly came for Jordan.  
“Hit her!” Charlotte exclaimed, desperately trying the door, “Jordan, hit her!”  
“I can’t!” he scorned, backing off as the guard pulled her baton.  
“We’re not exactly playing by the rules here!” she scorned back.  
“It’s not a rule,” Jordan spared her a glance, “it’s just wrong.”  
“What?!”  
The guard quickly had hold of his arm and had used the baton to flatten him back against the wall by his throat. With at least his right hand being free he was able to keep the stick from choking him.  
“What do I do?!” the receptionist was panicking.  
“Get the Doc to bring a sedative,” the guard ordered.


	51. Locked Doors

“Come on Everett,” Charlotte cursed under her breath, rummaging in her handbag as the receptionist disappeared yelling for the doctor.  
“Don’t move,” the guard shot her a glare.  
“Make me,” Charlotte scorned back while the guard pulled some handcuffs from her belt.  
Jordan grunted under the strain, trying to straighten his back against the wall.   
“Give me your hand,” the guard ordered, trying to catch Jordan’s wrist.  
“EVERETT?!” Charlotte suddenly yelled.  
Not seeing the look she got from Jordan, all three of them heard the sudden beep. When Charlotte saw the door light change to green her adrenaline spiked.  
Without thinking further, she aimed her handbag at the guard. It wasn’t overly solid, but she put a lot of energy into the hit.  
With the distraction Jordan was able to get out from under the baton.  
“RUN!” Charlotte yelled.  
Jordan ran for the door, opening it to the outside. Seeing that the guard was going for Charlotte though he turned back and grabbed the back of her shirt. Before the guard recovered enough to reach for her he’d pulled her through the door and slammed it in the other woman’s face. Standing against it until he heard the door lock again, he finally backed off to catch his breath.  
“You saved me,” Charlotte realised out loud, making him turn to look at her.  
He was about to reply when the sound of sirens suddenly filled the air.  
“Come on,” Charlotte darted to the left.  
Not waiting to ask where they were going, Jordan followed. Charlotte’s car sat in darkness around the back of the building.  
“Get in!” she insisted, opening the passenger’s door herself.  
She was in before she realised he’d gotten into the back.  
“Stay down!” John ordered, immediately flooring the accelerator.  
The headlights were the last thing to go on as they tore out of the parking lot and onto the main road.  
“You think they’ll come after us?” Charlotte looked across to him in worry.  
“I know they will,” John replied, more serious than she’d ever seen him before, “which means we need to get as much distance between us as possible.”  
“ _Ezra_?” came a voice from the back.  
“Stay down!” John repeated, “we need to get out of sight!”  
“What do you think you’re doing?!”  
“Ezra?” Charlotte looked to John.  
“Just stay down and shut up!” John ordered.  
Jordan fell back into the seat as John careened around a corner.  
“Where are we going?” Charlotte asked worriedly, not entirely sure what had just happened between them.  
“We need to get him somewhere safe,” John insisted, keeping one eye on the mirrors.


	52. Family Affair

“Why did he call you Ezra?” Charlotte asked when John had slowed sometime later.  
“Because that’s his name,” Jordan responded for him.  
“Ezra?” Charlotte’s brow furrowed, “what happened to John?”  
“I couldn’t come up with anything better,” he shrugged, “so I got stuck with John Doe.”  
“You’re the John she was telling me about?” Jordan had sat up again.  
“I guess so,” he didn’t really seem interested in conversation.  
“So you’re a protestor now?”  
“Can this wait?” John – or Ezra – scorned, “we’re not exactly in the clear right now.”  
“Exactly,” Jordan insisted, “and if I get caught again I want to know what my son has been up to.”  
“Your son?!” Charlotte’s eyes widened, darting between the two.  
The resemblance was already uncanny. But she felt any semblance of trust she’d had for ‘John’ already melting away.  
“For now it’s none of your business,” Ezra hit back, “I just need to get you back safely.”  
“How far are we going?” Jordan frowned.  
“Can I just concentrate? Please?!”  
“We’re going to a meeting point on a highway out of town,” Charlotte offered, a little shocked at how rude Ezra was being.  
“Thank you. That’s all I wanted to know.”  
Ezra grunted something unintelligible. After a moment Jordan leant forward in his seat, making Charlotte lean forward a little herself.  
“You do realise the last time I saw you, you couldn’t even drive?” he said to Ezra.  
“I really am not in the mood to reminisce right now,” Ezra insisted.  
“Well tough,” Jordan shrugged, “because I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t thinking about his moment.”  
Charlotte saw Ezra bite his lip. She knew he was having trouble concentrating on the road and felt like she should offer to drive, but she also knew that stopping the car would be dangerous.  
“Have you spoken to your Mom?”  
“She’s fine,” Ezra assured in a softer tone, “they’re all fine.”  
“I heard her mention Everett,” Jordan cast Charlotte a glance, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember if you told me your name.”  
“Charlotte,” she offered, blushing a little.  
“Nice to meet you officially, Charlotte,” he smiled a little.  
“They’re fine too,” Ezra went on, “they’re all at the ranch.”  
“In Texas?”  
“Yeah. Far enough away from everything but still close enough to Houston.”  
“Houston?”  
“Where the President is now.”  
Jordan paused, thinking it over.  
“Who else is involved in this campaign of yours?” he asked curiously.


	53. Flee

“We have dedicated teams in all the major capitals,” Ezra explained as if getting down to business, “main focus on Houston, obviously.”  
“Why did it take you so long to get to Chicago?” Charlotte asked curiously.  
“It wasn’t a priority,” Ezra admitted, “it’s not one of the larger known centres, though we knew about the detention centre there.”  
“You didn’t know I was there?” Jordan guessed.  
“We had no idea where you were,” Ezra gave him a glance in the mirror, “if we had we would have zeroed in earlier.”  
“Was this all just an elaborate plan to get your father back?” Charlotte had to ask.  
“No,” Ezra insisted, “like I said, we didn’t know where he was. Or if he was even still alive.”  
“So what happens to the campaign now?”  
Ezra was silent, focusing on the road again.   
“Ezra?” came Jordan’s voice.  
“I don’t know, alright?” Ezra frowned, “this wasn’t exactly planned. But we didn’t know what else to do.”  
“Other than risking your lives to break me out?” Jordan frowned back.  
“Yes!” Ezra insisted, “what were we supposed to do?! Nothing else was working! They were never going to let you go. You would have died in there!”  
“Maybe even within the week,” Charlotte offered.  
“What do you mean?” Jordan turned to her.  
“Do you remember my last visit when we spoke about the guard… attacking you?”  
“Vaguely,” Jordan frowned.  
“Charlotte caught it on video,” Ezra interjected, “the guard got her ass handed to her but she’s due back at work tomorrow.”  
“I was wondering what happened to Holden,” Jordan thought aloud.  
“We assume she’d return with a vendetta,” Charlotte went on, “they never said anything to you?”  
“No,” Jordan shook his head, “but they rarely did.”  
“What happened to your eye?”  
He made eye contact with her for the first in a long time, looking as if he didn’t want to say.  
“We’re almost there,” Ezra cut in as a distraction, making Jordan look away.  
“And then what?” Charlotte turned her eyes to him.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted, worry evident in his voice.  
“We’ll figure something out,” Jordan seemed to promise as he shifted himself in the back, “as long as the authorities don’t catch up with us in the meantime.”  
“The chopper’s out,” Ezra said warily.  
“I know, I can hear it,” Jordan assured before laying back on the seat.  
“Do you think they saw the car?” Charlotte’s brow furrowed.  
“I don’t think anything,” Ezra shook his head, “I just want to get the hell out of dodge.”


	54. Chinese Whispers

“Five minutes, tops,” Ezra announced when the car had gone silent for a time.  
“Why couldn’t you hit the guard?” Charlotte turned to Jordan again.  
“I don’t hit women,” Jordan looked surprised that she’d even ask.  
“At all?”  
She frowned when he shook his head.  
“Is that how you got caught so easily?”  
“I wouldn’t say it was easy,” Jordan smirked, catching Ezra’s eye in the mirror.  
“You were in the war, right?” Charlotte figured she’d find out as much as she could before he potentially disappeared forever.  
“I was,” he confirmed, his eyes narrowing at her line of question.  
“Did they just take you from there? Did you get to come home first? How did you avoid the blasts? I mean…” Charlotte fired off, already embarrassing herself but she so desperately wanted to know, “how did you even survive when so many people didn’t?”  
Jordan’s eyes went to the back of Ezra’s head. Ezra had blushed a little and was trying to ignore him.  
“I wasn’t on the front lines,” Jordan relented, “I was stationed in communications.”  
“Communications?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose, inviting him to go on.  
“Yeah,” his eyes lowered, “organising tactical response, barking orders, keeping men alive.”  
Charlotte saw Ezra gulp a little from the corner of her eye as Jordan turned to look out the window. She felt a feeling of dread wash over her and took it as a sign that the conversation needed to end.  
“But I came home first,” Jordan went on after a moment, surprising her, “it was a few months after the war that they came up with the scheme. Another two after that when they realised they didn’t have enough volunteers and began hunting us down.”  
“Hunting?” Charlotte frowned, “I thought you – I mean deserters – were just arrested if the opportunity came up.”  
“Most were,” Jordan assured, locking eyes with her again, “but some of us already had marks on our records and they decided to use that against us.”  
“Nothing like having SWAT barge into your house while you’re sitting around eating dinner,” Ezra smirked.  
“You didn’t know they were coming?” Charlotte’s brow furrowed.  
“Only the start of not being told anything,” Jordan couldn’t help but smile a little, “though we did have TV for a while to begin with. I think we got the news channels and that was about it.”  
“That’s them,” Ezra nodded, indicating some lights on the side of the highway up ahead.  
Charlotte turned back to Jordan, seeing him staring at them.  
“I don’t know where to begin in saying I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she looked worried.  
“Don’t be sorry,” Jordan shrugged, “it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t the majority of the population. It was a desperate government naively throwing away the American dream while trying too hard to save it.”  
Charlotte hesitated at that before sitting back in her seat.  
“I can see where you get your way with words,” she told Ezra, making him smirk.  
He slowed as he came to what turned out to be two cars parked in the emergency lane, a tow truck accompanying them to make it seem like nothing out of the ordinary. Charlotte could see from this distance Clara sitting on the hood of an old sedan.  
Ezra pulled up behind them and left the lights on as he shut the car off.


	55. Names

“Nat?!”  
Charlotte had gotten out before Jordan and turned in time to see the incredulous look on his face.  
“Tay!” came the exclamation from Clara as she bolted for the car.  
Jordan met her halfway and clutched her into a hug as Ezra threw Charlotte the keys and made his way around to her side.  
“I’ve missed something,” Charlotte looked confused as he joined her.  
“Clara – aka Natalie, my Mom,” Ezra introduced, “and Taylor, my Dad.”  
“He lied about his name too?” she frowned, watching them hug tighter than she’d ever seen anyone.  
“No,” Ezra smirked, “his name is Jordan Taylor. Like me, I’m Jordan Ezra. He just hasn’t gone by Taylor for a while is all.”  
“Tay we need to get out of here,” Clara – or Natalie – insisted, trying to pull back.  
“Just wait a minute,” he insisted.  
“We don’t have a minute!”  
Jordan took her by the shoulders and held her in place for a moment.  
“You do realise that your face right now is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life?” he almost pleaded with her.  
She bit her lip, looking torn between running and staying.  
“We appreciate the sentiment…” Charlotte and Ezra turned to Walker’s voice, “but we really do need to get as far South as possible tonight.”  
“Dad?” Jordan’s brow furrowed when he caught sight of him, letting Natalie go.  
“Guess this is a real family affair,” Charlotte muttered, folding her arms across her chest.  
“What’s the plan? Texas?” Jordan looked between them.  
“For now,” Walker nodded, making it to the front of the car, “but we might not be able to stay there.”  
“I’ve had an FBI tail this week,” Natalie informed him, “I managed to lose them a couple of days ago but they’ll be looking for me.”  
“What? Why?” Jordan frowned, “why would the FBI be hassling you?”  
“There’s a lot you need to catch up on,” Natalie put a hand on his chest.  
“And in order to do that,” Walker gave them a pointed look.  
“Yeah, I get it,” Jordan assured with a nod, “we’d better move.”  
“What about us?” Ezra gave Charlotte a glance.  
“It won’t take long for them to work out what happened,” Natalie said to him pointedly.  
“We are not leaving you behind,” Jordan sounded like he dared someone to challenge him.  
“Fine, you’re not leaving me behind,” Ezra shrugged, “but what about Char?”  
Charlotte felt her face going red as Natalie focused on her. The woman the majority of the world knew as Clara made her way toward her, and while Charlotte felt she should take a step back she let Natalie take her hand.  
“I don’t know how to thank you.”  
Charlotte was taken aback when she saw tears in the woman’s eyes.  
“I don’t know what I could possibly do to repay you for reuniting my family,” she offered a smile.  
“How about protection?” Ezra suggested, “considering she risked her neck for us and still has to go back home to face the fire. They have her name you know.”  
Charlotte felt her face only redden further.


	56. Running

“She can come to El Paso with us, right?” Jordan looked between them.  
“Taylor-“ Walker began to object.  
“And what about her kids?” Ezra cut in.  
“Them too,” Jordan frowned, “her kids are my kids too, don’t forget.”  
“Tay, so are half of Chicago’s,” Natalie said under her breath, “we can’t take them all.”  
“You _owe_ her!” Ezra scorned.  
“Um…” Charlotte took an awkward step back.  
“Not only that,” Jordan agreed with Ezra, “but these are the only ones I know about for sure. Now it might seem easy to you but I can’t let that go. I just can’t.”  
“So what happens when you find more?” Natalie frowned.  
“When am I going to have a chance to?” he shrugged, “we’re going underground, aren’t we?”  
“Underground?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose before she looked to Ezra, “but what about the campaign? You can’t just disappear from Chicago altogether, what about the other deserters?”  
Ezra was about to reply when Walker suddenly indicated for them all to be quiet. With a slight indication all eyes turned to the sky.  
“They’re coming,” Natalie was the first to speak.  
“You two get back on the road, head back into town,” Walker instructed Charlotte and Ezra.  
“And then what?” Ezra frowned.  
“Tay? Get in the back. Natalie help me with the truck. We need to get this car hitched.”  
“I can help,” Jordan offered as they separated.  
“Don’t argue with me, just stay out of sight!”  
“Come on,” Ezra took Charlotte by the arm and led her back to her car.  
“Wait!” she began to protest, “is this it?! Will I ever see him again?!”  
“Just get in the car!” Ezra hissed, keeping an eye on the spotlight reigning down on the road from the helicopter not far away.  
Charlotte looked back for where Jordan disappeared into the shadows before quickly getting in and starting the car. Ezra was already in the passenger side and had started going through his backpack.  
“What are you doing?” Charlotte frowned.  
“Just drive,” Ezra insisted, “if we get stopped I want to make sure there’s nothing in here for them to find.”  
Charlotte grit her teeth as she felt her adrenaline spiking, keeping her eye on where Walker and Natalie were adjusting the chains on the tow truck until she pulled back onto the highway.  
Heading straight for the spotlight wasn’t helping her nerves. When Ezra suddenly lowered the window and ditched his cell phone out into the darkness she looked across with worry.  
“If we get stopped they might take you in again anyhow,” she bit her lip.  
“Cross that bridge when we come to it,” he shrugged, closing his backpack again and setting to watch the lights behind them disappear from the mirrors.  
Charlotte was more focused on the ones up ahead.


	57. Scattered

“How long have you known?” Charlotte tried to distract herself with conversation.  
“Known what?” Ezra turned to look over his shoulder.  
The spotlight had fallen on the car moments earlier and then moved further up the highway. At least one patrol car had sped past.  
“That you were Eden and Jorryn’s brother,” Charlotte amended, eyes on the mirrors herself.  
“After Clara – Mom – saw the video,” he admitted, sitting back with a sigh, “she called and told me.”  
Charlotte thought back to that day, vaguely remembering Ezra giving Eden a weird look at the time.  
“So Willa’s your sister?” she asked.  
Ezra shot her a look, obviously not expecting the name to come up.  
“How do you know her name?” he frowned.  
“Jordan… or Taylor… your Dad told me,” Charlotte fumbled for a moment, “he was asking about Eden and it came up that her middle name was Willow…”  
“Her middle name is Willow?” Ezra mused.  
“Yeah,” Charlotte glanced in the mirror again.  
“When did this happen?”  
“Um…” Charlotte had to think, “maybe the um… second time I saw him? Something like that.”  
Ezra nodded to himself, looking out the window again.  
“Well yeah, Willa’s the youngest. Of us anyway.”  
“Guess your family’s grown a bit now,” Charlotte regretted saying as soon as the words left her mouth.  
“I guess so,” was his somewhat distracted response.  
There was an awkward moment of silence between them as they both kept their eyes on the flashing lights surrounding them. They were too far away now to tell if anything had happened back at the tow truck.  
“So what do I call you?” Charlotte tried to break it.  
“Call me whatever you want,” Ezra shrugged, “whatever’s easier for you.”  
“Okay…” she stopped to think it over.  
She couldn’t deny that Ezra suited him, but she still had John sitting on the tip of her tongue.  
“What do you think they’ll decide?” she was nervous to ask.  
“I don’t know,” Ezra scratched his head, his hair falling in his eyes, “and… sorry, no one really asked you what you wanted to do about it.”  
“To be honest, I wouldn’t know,” Charlotte shrugged.  
“I mean I just don’t like the idea of you going home and the same thing happening…” Ezra cut in but then stopped himself warily.  
“The same thing?” Charlotte gave him a curious glance.  
“Yeah,” Ezra sighed, his scratching getting heavier, “the same thing that happened to us. I don’t want it to happen again. To anyone.”  
Charlotte gulped slightly when she realised what he meant.  
“What do you think the chances are of them knowing-“  
“Your name was on the appointment,” Ezra shook his head, “Everett can wipe it from the computers but he can’t erase peoples’ minds. The doctors and guards are probably in interrogation as we speak. They’re going to find you if we don’t do something quick.”


	58. Bad Timing

Charlotte could feel her hands shaking with nerves as she pulled up outside her mother’s house sometime later. Ezra opted to stay in the car as she went to the door.  
“Mom?!” she called as let herself in.  
“In the kitchen!” came the reply, accompanied by a giggle from Eden.  
Charlotte breathed her usual sigh of relief which accompanied every time her mother babysat Eden and she returned in one piece.  
When she made it into the kitchen she found Jorryn sitting on the table in his carry crib and Eden with her feet in the sink while her mother fed her cookies.  
“They ready to go?” Charlotte asked, hoping to hide her nerves.  
“Oh there’s no rush,” her mother insisted, tapping Eden on the nose as she put the cookie jar away.  
“Sorry,” Charlotte covered, “I’m just really tired is all. I want to get home to bed.”  
Her mother gave her an odd look and she swallowed hard.   
“What’s wrong?” the older woman demanded.  
“Nothing,” Charlotte assured a little too quickly, “I just want to get home.”  
“Don’t you lie to me Miss Charlotte.”  
“I’m not, I’m just… really tired,” Charlotte groaned, her loss of patience now genuine, “and there’s this show on tonight that I really don’t want to miss and if I don’t get home and watch it now I’m going to fall asleep and miss the end of it. So please, can we go?”  
Before her mother could come back with anything, Charlotte’s phone rang. She darted a quick glance at Jorryn to make sure he hadn’t been woken by it but there’d evidently been enough noise already to cover it.  
“Hello?” she turned away to answer.  
“Hey, Charlotte?” came the reply.  
Charlotte froze. She couldn’t mistake the voice on the other end.  
“Um, hi,” she quickly countered, “I’m at my Mom’s, getting the kids.”  
“Sorry I’ll be quick,” Jordan assured, picking up that it was an awkward time, “just to let you know that we’re on the road, and ah… I convinced them to let you come with us to El Paso, if you want to.”  
“Thanks for letting me know,” Charlotte tried to sound professional.  
“Do you want me to call you back?”  
“That would be great,” Charlotte insisted.  
“Okay bye.”  
Charlotte grit her teeth at the quick end to the call before turning back to her mother. The woman just looked confused.  
“Janelle, she’s coming over,” Charlotte covered, “so we really need to-“  
She was cut off by the sound of her car door closing. Her mother’s eyes widened, and without stopping to make sure Eden wouldn’t fall from the bench she darted out of the kitchen.  
“Mom!” Charlotte called after her, knowing she thought it must be a thief, “it’s okay!”  
With a groan she quickly pulled Eden onto her hip and followed.


	59. Offence

“I swear to God, I’m a friend of your daughter’s!” Ezra was insisting, his hands up in defence.  
“Pull the other one, it has bells on it!”  
“Mom!” Charlotte scorned, finally making it to her side.  
“Go back inside, I’ll handle this!”  
“Mom,” Charlotte put a hand on her shoulder as Ezra’s eyes darted between them, “he _is_ my friend. This is John.”  
Ezra put his hands down, watching for her reaction warily.  
“Why do you have a boy with you?” her mother demanded, lowering her voice, “how old is he?!”  
“Mom, he’s underage,” Charlotte insisted, “he’s just… helping me out with the kids.”  
“What?!”  
“I’m studying at the moment,” Ezra jumped in to help, “I became a part-time manny to help with college fees. You know, before I go into the program.”  
Charlotte’s mother gave him a suspicious look, but to Charlotte’s relief he was well and truly practised when it came to those.  
“Tuesdays are study nights but Charlotte told me you take them then anyhow,” he went on.  
“Did she now?” Charlotte’s mother narrowed her eyes at her daughter.  
“Yes…” Ezra looked to Charlotte, “where’s Jorryn?”  
“Inside,” Charlotte indicated for him to come and fetch Eden.  
Her mother watched like a hawk as Ezra came forward to collect her. While he was closer her eyes narrowed.  
“You look familiar,” she realised.  
“I get that a lot,” Ezra assured, “just one of those faces I guess.”  
Charlotte grimaced internally as she turned to fetch Jorryn. She rushed into the kitchen, carefully took up his carrier so as not to wake him, and rushed back just as fast.  
“Exactly how old are you?” her mother was demanding.  
“Seventeen,” Ezra assured, “I haven’t even received my papers yet.”  
“And when do you turn eighteen?”  
“Can we not give my manny the third degree just yet?” Charlotte pleaded as she took Jorryn past and to the car, “he’s only new, I don’t want to scare him off.”  
She opened the back door and fit the carrier in. Before either of them could respond however, there came a call from a neighbour.  
“Everything okay?!” came the elderly voice.  
“Everything’s fine Coral,” Charlotte’s mother replied as she winced.  
Coral was the neighbourhood busy-body.  
“Oh. I heard you arguing with the young man and I took the liberty of calling the police for you…”  
“What?!” Charlotte gasped, looking up and making eye contact with Ezra through the window.  
“I’m sure we’ll sort it out when they get here,” Charlotte’s mother waved off, “thanks for your concern anyway.”  
Charlotte saw Coral wave – a cell phone in her hand – before disappearing back into her house. She quickly closed the door on Jorryn before stepping back around the other side.  
“I’m sorry, we _really_ have to go!” she insisted, taking Eden from Ezra again.  
“Don’t be silly,” her mother scorned, “you need to stay and explain to the police. They shouldn’t be long.”


	60. Crossing The Line

“Just go. Go!” Ezra insisted, worry now evident on his face.  
“What are you doing?” Charlotte’s mother demanded as she got Eden into the car and quickly closed the door.  
“I _told_ you we had to leave!” Charlotte was getting angry, “but no, you had to make it hard. Like everything!”  
As Ezra jumped into the passenger seat Charlotte grunted as her phone rang.  
“What is wrong with you?!” her mother demanded as she quickly handed the phone to Ezra.  
“That’ll be your Dad,” she explained as he took it and answered it.  
“What?!”  
“Hey,” Ezra immediately ignored everyone around him, “yeah we’re still here. The neighbour called the cops so we’re getting out now.”  
“What’s going on?!” Charlotte’s mother demanded as Charlotte simply got into the driver’s seat and started the car.  
She tried to ignore her mother’s screaming as she reversed down the driveway and into the street. Without looking back she planted the accelerator.  
“Head for Highway 57,” Ezra instructed, still on the phone to Jordan.  
“We need to go home first. I need to pick up-“  
“They checked in with Everett,” Ezra cut her off, “they’re already there.”  
“Who?”  
“The cops,” Ezra rubbed his face, “yeah Dad?”  
“Dammit,” Charlotte cursed under her breath, trying to hold herself together enough to not just break down then and there.  
Her house had everything. Baby photos of Eden, all her records, Eden and Jorryn’s toys…  
“Okay,” Ezra snapped her out of it, “what if something happens at the borders?”  
He frowned as he concentrated on what Jordan told him.   
“Want me to check in?” he asked, before nodding at the reply, “okay I’ll wait.”  
He hung up without saying goodbye, then sat with the phone in his hand.  
“What’s up?” Charlotte struggled to hold her sanity.  
“Everett’s going to check in with us, he’s tracking the cars,” Ezra explained, scratching his head anxiously.  
“Ezra…” she hesitated a little, getting used to the name, “we don’t have any supplies for the kids. We need to stop somewhere.”  
“We’ll go as far as we can,” he insisted, “but I know you need fuel too. We won’t make it all the way to El Paso, that’s for sure.”  
“So how are we going to stop?” Charlotte frowned, “what if we get spotted?”  
“They’re working on safe passage,” Ezra waved his hand, “Everett can monitor traffic cams, and he can…”  
He paused as the phone rang. When he didn’t lift it to answer the call, Charlotte looked across to see that it was video.  
“Hey Ev, what’s up?” Ezra greeted.  
“What’s up with you?” came the response – making Charlotte’s eyes widen.


	61. Spy

“Apparently you’re tracking highway cams?” Ezra’s eyebrows rose.  
“Yeah I should be able to divert the feeds all the way down to Texas. And I’ll keep an ear on the radio to make sure the cops don’t know anything’s up.”  
“How old is he?” Charlotte hissed suddenly.  
“Ah…”  
“Thirteen,” Everett answered for him, “and yes, I can hear you. Hi Char!”  
“Thirteen?” Charlotte was taken aback.  
“What were you expecting?” Ezra mused, “an adult?”  
“Well yeah…”  
A chuckle came from the phone.  
“His voice hasn’t even changed,” Charlotte could barely believe it.  
“Actually it’s started,” Everett corrected, “just FYI.”  
“How do you know so much about computers?” Charlotte asked, unable to see the screen from where she was but trying anyhow.  
“Um…”  
“Everett are you watching us right now?” Ezra turned the conversation back.  
“Yeah, sure,” he replied, “you’re heading out to the 57 right?”  
“Yeah we are,” Ezra gave Charlotte a glance, who had finally focused on the road again, “but we’re going to have to make a stop somewhere for fuel and supplies.”  
“Uncle Tay said you were bringing some extras?”  
“Yeah, Char and her two kids,” Ezra gave her another glance, “which is why we’ll need to stop.”  
“No problem. I can get Mom to have some stuff ready here too.”  
“Thanks Everett.”  
“I’ll call back when I find you a safe place to pull over. How much fuel’s in the car?”  
Charlotte’s eyes lowered to check.  
“About an eighth?” she guessed.  
“Okay. Will call back soon,” Everett promised before the call cut out.  
Ezra sat back with a sigh, turning his eyes back to the road.  
“A thirteen year old?!” Charlotte couldn’t stand it any longer.  
“Yeah,” he pulled a face, “he doesn’t like to talk about it, but his Dad was good with computers. So when he died, Everett kinda… took over.”  
“His Dad was a hacker?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose.  
“No,” Ezra shook his head, “he was just… good. Okay good, not awesome good. Everett’s awesome good.”  
He paused, licking at his lips.  
“I guess he kinda saw it as a way to pay tribute to his Dad or whatever.”  
“His Dad’s dead?” Charlotte felt she should check, “he’s not a deserter?”  
“No,” Ezra replied sullenly, “Dad lost three brothers to the war. Uncle Isaac was one of them. Everett’s Dad.”  
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Charlotte said after a pause.  
“Just… don’t mention it to Dad,” Ezra looked across at her, “we don’t know the whole story, and we don’t _want_ to know it, but we heard that he saw it happen.”


	62. Delegating

“I’ll fuel, you shop,” Ezra handed Charlotte a credit card.  
“What’s this for?” she asked, stopping herself from opening the door.  
“Use that, they can’t trace it,” Ezra insisted, “the pin is eight times four.”  
He got out himself and made his way to the fuel pump. His cap was back on his head to ward off any suspicions on his age, but he’d left the sunglasses off.  
Just as well, considering it was close to midnight.  
Charlotte gave her children one last glance – both sleeping through the night – before heading into the station. She picked up some food, drink, nappies and small toys for them, before also grabbing some road food for herself and Ezra. By the time she was done she looked through the window to see that he was done, and went to pay with the card.  
Expecting there to be a problem and sighing with relief when there wasn’t, she returned to the car with her arms full and Ezra helped her load the back. They were soon on their way again.  
“If we switch drivers we should make it to El Paso before this time tomorrow,” Ezra said through a yawn.  
“You should get some sleep,” Charlotte suggested.  
“So should you,” Ezra hit back, “so who goes first?”  
“I think I’d sleep better knowing the person at the wheel was fully rested, especially if it isn’t me,” Charlotte mused, “you first.”  
Ezra smirked but set the phone in the centre console and carefully tilted the seat back so that it didn’t touch Eden’s booster seat.  
“Fine,” he relented, closing his eyes, “wake me if Everett calls again.”  
Charlotte waited a few minutes before thinking to reply that the phone would wake him anyway, before realising that he’d already fallen asleep.  
“That was fast,” she muttered, eyeing off the phone.  
Making sure to keep an eye on the road she managed to put it on vibrate so the ringtone wouldn’t wake any of the sleeping three if Everett did call. They weren’t expecting another one until the following morning, but considering the circumstances they could never be sure.  
She almost hoped Jordan would call again while his son was out.


	63. Detour

It was around midday when Charlotte was startled awake by her cell phone vibrating on the console. She opened her eyes in time to see Ezra’s hand dart for it. Knowing that her mother had been calling relentlessly all morning she quickly closed her eyes again with a groan.  
“Hey Dad.”  
That made her open her eyes again.  
“Yeah we’re just diverting via Broken Arrow now…”  
There was a long pause, and as Charlotte watched she could see a frown deepening in Ezra’s features.  
“Dad that is a _really_ bad idea.”  
Frowning now herself, Charlotte pushed herself up in her seat and quickly checked on the kids in the back. Jorryn was asleep and Eden was wearing headphones and kicking her feet. She didn’t recognise them, so they must have belonged to Ezra.  
“I don’t care!” Ezra’s voice rose, “don’t you realise that’s one of the first places they’re going to look for you?!”  
“What’s he doing?” Charlotte tried to indicate for him to keep his voice down.  
“He wants to stop and meet up at Veteran’s Park in Jenks,” Ezra said away from the phone.  
“Where’s Jenks?” she shrugged.  
“It’s just down the road, about a half hour away,” Ezra replied, “we have to go through it and that’s bad enough.”  
He put the phone back to his ear and Charlotte could hear Jordan talking to him from her side of the car.  
“You know meeting up in itself is a bad idea!” he was back to arguing, “you don’t think it’ll raise suspicion, us being together for one? How many happy families do you see on the side of the road, Dad?!”  
Charlotte put her head in her hand as she heard Jordan’s voice come back just as harsh. She couldn’t hear what he was saying but she could hear the tone. She was distracted from dwelling on it by Jorryn starting to cry.  
“Damn,” she cursed, turning in her seat to tend to him.  
“Yes it is, and don’t change the subject!” Ezra scorned into the phone, “what did Gramps say about this? Or Mom?!”  
“Would you keep it down?” Charlotte finally grunted.  
Ezra gave her a sympathetic glance before taking a deep breath.  
“What, are you serious? You left him behind? What if the cops get him?!”  
He immediately realised his mistake and quickly gave Charlotte the same look again. Jordan spoke for some time before Ezra finally grunted.  
“Fine, whatever. But if you get caught-” he hung up before he could finish the sentence.  
“What’s so wrong with Jenks?” Charlotte asked as she had trouble entertaining Jorryn with a toy.  
“What’s wrong with Jenks?” his eyebrows rose, “Jenks is home base. It’s where he’s from.”  
Charlotte grimaced, suddenly picking up on the reason for Ezra’s worry.


	64. Fathers

“This is such a bad idea,” Ezra was groaning as he pulled into the suburban street.  
“Say it one more time, I dare you,” Charlotte glared.  
She was just happy to see his father again, and he was completely killing the mood. He grunted to himself as he turned the car around, taking them alongside a lake.  
“How far away were they?” Charlotte asked, noticing Ezra skirted the main parking bays and headed further down to a small gazebo.  
“Not far,” Ezra assured, “Everett just kept us far enough away so people wouldn’t notice the same two cars I think.”  
“Okay…” Charlotte figured she’d be glad to just stretch her legs.  
Ezra pulled the car to a halt and got himself out, opening the back door to let some air in for Jorryn before making his way around the back. Charlotte went to fetch Eden, not for the first time wondering what music Ezra had her listening to. As she set her on the bitumen and took hold of her hand, she realised Ezra had gone for some food.  
“Good idea,” she agreed when he held up an offering for her to see, “can you get something for Jorryn too?”  
“No problem,” he assured, fussing around.  
When he got everything sorted he closed the back and went to fetch him. Making sure Charlotte was following he led them all over to the gazebo and took up a place on the picnic table there.  
“It’s a nice park,” Charlotte looked around appreciatively.   
“Yeah,” Ezra admitted, though he didn’t seem too happy about it, “I came here a few times as a kid.”  
“You and your Dad…” she asked carefully as she fed Eden, “you didn’t get on?”  
He looked surprised for a moment, before wincing a little.  
“It’s not that,” he amended, “it’s just… a lot changed with the war, you know? I mean he came home a different person. They all did.”  
He smirked.  
“Well, those who came home.”  
“So you haven’t gotten on since the war?” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose.  
“It’s not even really…” Ezra sighed, looking out across the lake, “it’s hard to put my finger on. Things changed, that’s all. When he left – when they all left – it put the family through a lot. When Dad was the only one who came back…”  
He shook his head.  
“Just puts a lot of tension on a large family, and his issues didn’t help with that.”  
“I think I get it,” Charlotte nodded.  
“Who did you lose?” Ezra asked suddenly, “if you don’t mind…”  
“Oh no,” Charlotte waved off, “I mean I lost an Uncle, my Mom’s brother, but it was a long time ago you know.”  
“What about your Dad?” Ezra asked.  
“We lost him when I was little,” Charlotte shrugged, “I guess… that’s why I really wanted to find out as much as I could about your Dad, for my kids. Because I had to grow up without one, and I was never really told about him.”  
“I’m sorry,” Ezra’s brow furrowed, before he looked up to where an SUV was pulling up beside them.  
“It’s okay,” Charlotte assured, “like I said. Long time ago.”


	65. Gearing Up

“Hey!” Jordan called as he jogged to the gazebo, “everyone okay?”  
“We’re good,” Ezra insisted, standing from the bench.  
“Good,” Jordan pulled him into a hug.  
Ezra didn’t reciprocate at first, but soon gave in and hugged his father back.  
Charlotte felt her nerves skyrocket when Natalie soon appeared behind him. She looked like she wanted to be there about as much as Ezra did.  
“You okay Charlotte?”  
Her eyes darted to Jordan, his expectant look catching her off guard.  
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” she offered a smile, feeling like she should stand but not wanting to disturb Eden on her lap.  
Jordan’s eyes soon fell on her, and he pulled away from Ezra. He didn’t even look back as he carefully made his way over, kneeling in front of Charlotte.  
“Hey,” he greeted his daughter for the first time, reaching out for the hand that wasn’t holding a piece of cheese, “…Eden?”  
He looked to Charlotte for confirmation. Barely able to contain herself, she nodded.  
“Hey Eden,” he focused on her again.  
She was giving him a strange look, but wasn’t pulling away when he curled his fingers around her small hand.  
“How old are you now?” he asked softly.  
“Fourteen months,” Charlotte cleared her throat to answer, “well, fifteen now I guess…”  
“Big girl,” Jordan smiled appreciatively before turning back to Natalie, “doesn’t she look like Penny?”  
“Yeah, I noticed,” Natalie offered a small smile and nothing more.  
“Penny?” Charlotte looked between them.  
“Her oldest sister,” Jordan mused, “you’ll meet her in El Paso. You’ll meet all of them.”  
“If we ever get there,” Ezra folded his arms.  
“He’s right, we should leave,” Natalie insisted.  
Jordan ignored them both, letting go of Eden’s hand and standing. He stepped over to where Jorryn’s carrier had been set on the table and peered inside.  
“Jorryn,” Charlotte offered.  
“Thanks,” he gave her an appreciative glance.  
He bit his lip for a moment before reaching in and lifting the small boy into his arms.  
“Tay?” Natalie scorned.  
“Your mother told me about the campaign,” he turned his eyes to Ezra as he held Jorryn in his arms as naturally as ever, “and about your looming deadline.”  
“Hooray,” Ezra drawled.  
“Bottom line is… you and I are about to be very much in the same boat as far as the cops are concerned,” Jordan wasn’t deterred, “and we can’t hide forever.”  
Ezra’s eyes narrowed at that.  
“What are you saying?” Charlotte asked for him, helping Eden with a biscuit.  
“I’m saying that we can’t let the campaign die,” he insisted.  
“But the second we go out in public they _can_ and _will_ arrest us,” Ezra frowned.  
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” Jordan assured, “but I’m not the only deserter who fought in the war, and those men don’t deserve to be in there any more than I did.”  
“We know this,” Ezra adjusted the cap on his head nervously, “but you almost sound like you have a plan.”  
Jordan cast his eyes toward Natalie.  
“We’re calling all the groups back to Texas,” she explained, “and after we regroup… we’ll go after Houston.”  
“Houston?” Ezra’s eyes widened, “you want to go after the President?”  
“We have the best evidence against the program that we could possibly hope for,” Natalie indicated Jordan, “along with the audio and video that Charlotte took. If this doesn’t work then nothing will.”  
“And the nation is damned,” Jordan ended for her.  
Charlotte looked between them nervously, knowing this wasn’t her argument. But the last thing she wanted was to lose both Ezra and Jordan to the system.  
“Okay,” Ezra’s eyebrows went up as he surprised himself, “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this, but okay.”  
“It’ll be better than going down without a fight, believe me,” Jordan carefully replaced Jorryn in his carrier as the infant became close to falling asleep.  
“Not helping Dad.”  
“We need to hit the road,” Natalie insisted, already starting back to the SUV.  
“We’ll get you guys settled in before we do anything,” Jordan promised Charlotte, looking her in the eye as he shifted the blankets, “you won’t be expected to join in if you don’t want to.”  
“Okay,” Charlotte agreed, “but what if I want to?”  
Jordan’s eyes went to Ezra, before he smirked and stood.  
“We’ve got a lot of work to do!” he announced, waving as he followed Natalie back to the car.


End file.
